Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale confirmed that he is heading to the States on a free transfer to Los Angeles FC. The 32-year-old is LAFC’s second high-profile signing this summer after Giorgio Chiellini chose to switch after bidding farewell to Juventus. The signing of Gareth Bale is one of the most significant in LAFC’s history. Bale, who turns 33 in July, spent the last eight years of his career at the Bernabeu, winning three La Liga titles and five UCL titles scoring a total of 106 goals in 258 appearances for Real Madrid.
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Despite winning the Champions League in his final game for Real Madrid, his presence there might may have ended under something of a shadow, making just seven appearances during the 2021-22 season, but at his best we all know the fact that he still remains one of the top attacking players in the world and only a few can boast five UCL titles to their name.
Bale’s performance with Wales on the other hand has been outstanding. Hiis performance in taking Wales to the Qatar World Cup proved that he can still turn things around when needed, scoring two goals against Austria and then a decisive free-kick in the play-off final against Ukraine.
Bale to LAFC: The Deal Structure
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Reports say that Bale has signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles FC and has added on a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) deal (TAM is money allotted outside of the salary cap in order to reduce various players salary cap hits).
Other financial terms such as the salary is yet to be revealed by LAFC, reports suggest that Bale might be earning somewhere around the range of 1.5 to 2 million euros a year that means he won’t be in the list of the highest paid players in the MLS.
Kristian Garcia, the LAFC 3252 Supporters Union President, says“We are all very excited, we weren’t necessarily expecting it but transfer windows have the added excitement that you never know what’s going to happen so it’s definitely exciting to have someone of Bale’s caliber and we are excited to welcome him to Los Angeles. I think a player of Gareth Bale’s gravity speaks for itself, he’s played for the biggest teams, he’s a current Champions League winner, he’s won it five times, he’s played in the biggest games, and he’s delivered in the biggest games.”A player of that caliber is known around the world and we are absolutely excited to welcome him here.”
Shashank Iyer