About Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and the greatest Welsh player of all time. A two-time member of the UEFA Team of the Year, he is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner. Bale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for his contributions to association football and various charities. Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing as a left-back before moving to Tottenham in 2007. From the 2009–10 season, under coach Harry Redknapp, Bale transformed into a winger. With Tottenham, he rose to international prominence during the club's 2010–11 Champions League campaign. At the end of the season, he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year, before earning the award again following his 2012–13 campaign that led Real Madrid to sign him in September 2013 for a then world-record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). Bale went on to be an integral player for Madrid, scoring over 100 goals for them. In his debut season, he scored the winning goal in the 2014 Copa del Rey final against rivals Barcelona and the go-ahead goal in extra time of the 2014 Champions League final, helping Madrid win the long-awaited La Décima. In 2015–16, he scored 19 goals in 23 matches in La Liga and assisted the opening goal in the 2016 Champions League final, later making the three-man shortlist for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award. He earned Man of the Match after scoring twice, including an overhead kick, in the 2018 Champions League final, and helped Madrid win the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, where he received the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Bale returned to Tottenham on loan before playing his final season in Madrid. He joined MLS club Los Angeles FC in July 2022, winning a MLS Cup. Bale made his international debut for Wales in May 2006. He had 111 caps for the nation and scored 41 goals, making him Wales' most capped player and top goalscorer of all time. He was the top goalscorer for Wales in the qualifying rounds for UEFA Euro 2016, scoring seven times; he played every match for Wales in the actual tournament and led Wales to the semi-finals, scoring three goals. He also played in Euro 2020 and helped Wales qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, ending a 64-year appearance drought at the World Cup for Wales. He was named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times. In September 2013, Real Madrid signed Bale for a then world-record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). In his nine-year tenure, Bale won 15 trophies, including three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues. He won both the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player awards in the 2012–13 season, becoming the second Premier League player to achieve this feat after Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006–07. He was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2018.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.