Gareth Bale completes return to Spurs seven years after record Real Madrid switch | UK News

Gareth Bale has re-signed for Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan from Real Madrid.

The Welsh international, 31, signed for Madrid for £85m in 2013 from Spurs at the end of a season in which he finished as the club’s top goalscorer.

Despite having made more than 170 appearances for Madrid, scoring 80 goals and winning La Liga twice – and the Champions League four times – his relationship seemed to sour with the fans and manager Zinedine Zidane.

Sky Sports News has reported that the agreement between Spurs and Madrid is worth around £20m – covering a loan fee and part of Bale’s wages.

Bale landed in London on Friday after travelling on a flight with Real Madrid teammate Sergio Reguilon, who is also joining Tottenham for a fee that could rise to £32m.

Confirming his return in a tweet on Saturday evening, Bale said: “To all the Spurs fans, after 7 years, I’m back!”

He also posted a video showing some of his most memorable goals in a Tottenham shirt, including a memorable solo effort against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Bale moved to Spain from the north London side back in 2013 for a then-world record fee of £85m and has won the Champions League four times since then – scoring in two finals.

Real Madrid are said to have agreed to let him leave on loan to get his £500,000-a-week wages off their books.

Despite playing for Wales twice this month, Bale is unlikely to be have sufficient match fitness to walk straight into the Spurs side – although unlike most arrivals in the UK from Spain he will likely not have to quarantine.

This is as Bale has arrived from an elite sporting environment where coronavirus protocols will have been adhered to, and he will have also had to return a negative test result within five days prior to entering the UK.