Real Madrid issue statement confirming Gareth Bale exit after 9 years with the club

Real Madrid have confirmed the departure of Gareth Bale in a lengthy and heart-felt statement to conclude his nine trophy-laden years with the Spanish giants.

The Welshman had already confirmed his plans of leaving Real Madrid after the end of the season upon the expiration of his contract. Bale had recently hit out at Spanish media outlet Marca as being “disgusting” for comparing him to a parasite over claims he is sucking money out of the Spanish giants. Bale concluded a rant against the reports by stating: “We all know who the real parasite is!”

The forward had faced fresh criticism from the Madrid media after his starring role for Wales in their playoff win over Austria in March. Bale’s fall from prominence at Real Madrid in recent years has been striking and he went six months without featuring for the club this season, although he regained fitness during the international breaks to represent Wales. He has suffered multiple fitness setbacks along the way, but he has become a peripheral player at the club.

However, his spell in the Spanish capital also proved hugely successful – winning a remarkable 19 trophies across his spell at the club including five Champions League titles – no other player has more. He also scored multiple decisive goals, including in the 2014 and 2018 Champions League titles.

Bale scored 106 goals in 258 appearances for Los Blancos after joining from Tottenham in an £85million transfer in 2013. He was one-third of the fearsome ‘ BBC ’ attacking trident also including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, but saw his role diminish towards the latter end of his time at the Santiago Bernabeu due to his fractious relationship with former manager Zinedine Zidane.

Video: Thibaut Courtois on