The Welsh winger has chosen to end his nine-year stay this summer
GARETH Bale will leave Real Madrid this summer after nine years, favouring a potential return to Tottenham Hotspur.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “His contract will be over, and he hasn’t had a great motivation in the past.
“Now he is fine, and he wants to finish here, and he deserves that.”
Bale will leave the club after helping them to win a total of 14 trophies, including four Champions League titles.
The Wales international’s contract at the Bernabeu will expire at the end of the current campaign.
Things began well in Madrid for the Cardiff-born player upon joining in 2013, winning that season’s Champions League and scoring a goal in the final.
The iconic moments came thick and fast with the player scoring twice in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, including via an audacious overhead kick, .
The Madrid-inspired form didn’t just stay in Spain though, with Bale’s performances as captain of the Welsh national team being nothing short of heroic.
At Euro 2016, he led his nation to a record semi-final finish, only narrowly losing out on a place in the final to then Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
The former Whitchurch High School pupil has been named Wales Footballer of the Year six times in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, demonstrating his monumental impact for his country.
However, times have been turbulent in Spain for Bale in recent years, especially a particularly rocky relationship with ex-manager, Zinedine Zidane.
This came to a head when Bale chose to prioritise Wales and even his amateur love for golf over his club commitments for Los Blancos with the superstar being pictured alongside a banner reading “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.”
After a brief loan move to Spurs last season, Bale returned to the Spanish capital to be featured in only a handful of matches.
The winger featured in only four La Liga games, scoring just one goal in seven months.
But he will leave the Spanish outfit a hero, having notched 106 goals to date in 255 appearances for the club.
Spanish news outlet El Nacional reported three months ago that an agreement was in place between Bale and Spurs.
Bale broke out at Tottenham, scoring 72 goals in 237 games for the club, as well as winning a host of individual accolades including the esteemed PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2011 and 2013.
If he is unable to return to the Premier League, Bale could retire at just 32 but a host of English clubs remain interested in his signature.
