Los Angeles Football Club is on the verge of acquiring arguably the best player to ever play in Major League Soccer. According to a report by MLS insider Tom Bogert, LAFC will bring former Tottenham and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale on board, making the Welsh free agent the second high-profile acquisition the team has made in recent months.
BREAKING: LAFC are finalizing a deal to sign superstar Gareth Bale, per sources.
Bale is a free agent as his contract with Real Madrid expires this summer. The 32-year-old won 5 Champions Leagues, 3 La Ligas & more in Spain. Deal will NOT require DP spot. https://t.co/pegsSTYV6x pic.twitter.com/oUSXQE9ias
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 25, 2022
The report was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, while ESPN’s Taylor Twellman brings word that Bale and the team’s other recent acquisition, Italian center back Georgio Chiellini, will debut on July 8 when LAFC takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Gareth Bale joins Los Angeles FC on a free transfer, here we go! Follows @tombogert scoop – it’s confirmed, Bale leaves European football to try new MLS experience. Agreement in place.
#LAFC
Contract will be valid until June 2023 – as Bale follows Chiellini at LAFC. pic.twitter.com/C47AJGpCtm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 25, 2022
We will talk @GarethBale11 to @LAFC who will make his debut on July 8th vs @LAGalaxy with Chiellini. The details on the contract are complicated but for ’22 he is on TAM deal. #LAFC #MLS https://t.co/faJ2fHomWe
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) June 25, 2022
While the last few years of Bale’s career have seen things grow increasingly tense between himself and supporters in the Spanish capital, he is among the greatest players of his era and perhaps the greatest Welsh footballer of all time. Bale went to Real Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 on a transfer worth €100.8 million, a world-record at the time of his move.
He was part of three La Liga-winning sides and won Champions League five times with the club. Across all competitions, Bale scored 106 in 258 appearances for the club. In 2018, Bale scored one of the best Champions League final goals of all time with a breathtaking overhead kick that put Madrid ahead — he would go on to score one more time en route to a 3-1 victory over Liverpool.
Bale had been linked to moves to both Cardiff City and Getafe in recent weeks, with reports indicating that he wanted to get consistent playing time ahead of Wales’ first appearance in the World Cup since 1958. Instead, he’ll head to America with an eye on getting in form ahead of his national team’s opener in Qatar on Nov. 21 against the United States.