Bale closes the circle

The situation

The news fell like a bomb in Los Angeles in the early morning hours of the Californian city and was confirmed in the early European afternoon: Gareth Bale, former Real Madrid player, winner of five Champions, has signed for the Los Angeles team for one season with the option of another. For the first season he will earn about a million dollars, while the second season, if it becomes effective, his salary will depend on his performance. In this way, Bale would close his private circle. First, he finds a team with which to prepare for the Qatar World Cup (curiously, the American team has been framed in a group that also includes the Welsh team, captained by Gareth himself). Second,Bale himself will feel like the leader of the team, as in his national team, together with the Italian Chiellini and the Mexican Vela. And third, he begins a new stage where he feels important again in a soccer team . Not in vain, in the last season he has hardly participated in Real Madrid: in total he played 290 minutes in seven games with a single goal scored (against Levante, in August 2021). Bale’s idea was to find a team that played in a League where he could recover his goalscoring form, feel important (a leader) and prepare in the best way to be able to lead his team in the World Cup in Qatar. It must be remembered that the selection of the Red Dragons team has only attended one World Cup tournament: in Sweden-1958. Interestingly, all the UK teams attended that event: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

LAFC confirms long-term partnership

John Thorrington, co-president of LAFC, ‘revealed’ part of the negotiations held with Bale to go to the Californian team. He pointed out that the Welshman intends to remain in the California team and is not thinking of a short-term project. “I can say that both the club and Bale hope that this will be a long-term partnership and a stepping stone for Gareth and his family. Bale was never signed for six months and play the World Cup. We talk about a longer term than that. He and his representative were very clear. We expect him to be a great player for us and for the league, but we’ll do it sensibly.