By John Smith • Published: 01 Nov 2016 • 16:52
Gareth Bale and Real Madrid team mates
ALTHOUGH he did receive quite a lot of criticism when he first joined Real Madrid in 2013 for what was then a world-record transfer fee of €100 million, Gareth Bale has proven himself to be an important member of the team which has won five trophies since his arrival.
Due to FIFA rules concerning the treatment of under-18 players, Real Madrid are unable to sign any new players until 2018 (although they are appealing this ban) so have decided that it is imperative to extend the contracts of existing players and it has been announced that 27-year-old Bale has just signed an extension that should keep him in Madrid until 2022.
Whilst financial matters are kept secret to some extent, rumours abound that he will be paid in excess of €650,000 per week before tax and this sum is considerably more than team mate Cristian Ronaldo but he is currently also in the process of discussing new terms with Los Blancos which could well see him go back to being the highest paid Real Madrid player although he is four years older than Bale.
Other important members of the squad who have already extended their contracts include Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Lucas Vázquez so it seems that unless something very unexpected happens, they will all grow old together.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
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