Wales star Gareth Bale has confirmed he will go to LAFC for Major League Soccer, sharing a video on Saturday posing with the club team.
Bale’s tweet, in which he also wrote “See you soon, Los Angeles,” was shared by LAFC.
See you soon, Los Angeles. 👊 @LAFC @ LAFC3252 pic.twitter.com/GVP8WVWLPe
– Gareth Bale (@ GarethBale11) June 25, 2022
The highly successful move would be a free transfer, as Bale’s contract ends with Real Madrid. Sources confirmed to ESPN that the deal is expected to be completed with targeted allocation money (TAM), as MLSSoccer.com first reported, leaving the club with a designated player space open.
– ESPN Guide to the Summer Transfer Window – Transfer Qualifications: All Important Classified Signings
He could play in the LAFC when the MLS transfer window opens on July 7, meaning he could play for the first time against rival Los Angeles Galaxy at home the next day.
Sources told ESPN that Bale will fly at the end of the week after a short break and sign a deal until the end of this season with the option of one more year.
The move comes after the LAFC, which leads the MLS fan shield race, signed Italy and Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini earlier this month.
There is uncertainty about the future of Carlos Vela, but a source told ESPN that the future of the 33-year-old striker will be announced in a few days.
ESPN’s Taylor Twellman said on Twitter: “Carlos Vela has resigned from @LAFC as DP until the end of ’23. Bale and Chiellini are TAM players.”
Gareth Bale hopes to represent Wales at the 2022 World Cup. Photo by James Williamson – AMA / Getty Images
In eight seasons with Real Madrid, Bale was part of five Champions League winning teams and won the League three times. He scored 97 goals between LaLiga (80) and the Champions League (17) after a $ 106 million move from Tottenham before the 2013-14 season.
However, his last campaign at the club was interrupted by an injury and he only took part in seven Madrid matches, starting four of them.
Initially he was a key member of the team, scoring victories in the Champions League and Copa del Rey final in his first season and forming a formidable three striker alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Bale scored two goals in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, including a spectacular shot from above, but by then his injury problems had become more frequent and his relationship with the then coach Zinedine Zidane had begun to suffer.
In 2019, Bale was about to join the Chinese Super League’s Jiangsu Suning, but the move broke down in the final stages after his agent, Jonathan Barnett, said that Madrid changed their minds. . He was whistled by Bernabéu fans after being photographed with a banner that read, “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order” as he celebrated with his international teammates in November 2019.
Bale spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Tottenham again, scoring 11 goals in the Premier League, before returning to a limited role at Madrid with returning coach Carlo Ancelotti, who left him on the bench during the final of the Champions League last month last month. Paris.
Bale will represent Wales at the World Cup in November, which will open the tournament against the United States on 21 November.
ESPN FC’s Alex Kirkland and Mark Ogden contributed to this report.