Why Gareth Bale is the best British Football Player of all time

We look at the wonderful Welshman who throughout his storied career won five champions league titles and captained Wales to their first ever major semi-final.

A young Gareth Bale began his senior career at Southampton back in 2006 as an attacking left back. However, it was in 2010 when Gareth Bale really burst on to the scene, playing for Tottenham against Inter Milan in the Champions League. His pace and skill saw him converted from a fullback to a winger, and in this particular game demonstrated this electric skillset, scoring a hattrick, and putting his name on the map. He then spent the next three years after this game at Tottenham, winning various individual honours, including PFA players’ player of the year twice, Premier League player of the season, FWA footballer of the year and was also included in the UEFA team of the year twice and the Premier League team of the year three times. His greatest achievement with Tottenham undoubtedly though was winning the League Cup  in 2008. It was on the back of a very successful 2012/2013 season, in which he registered 36 goal contributions in all competitions,  where he caught the eye of footballing giants, Real Madrid .

On September 1^st, 2013, the Galactico’s announced they had broken the world transfer record, to sign the Welshman on a six-year deal for £85.3 million. It was here where Bale cemented his status as the best footballer to have ever been produced from Britain. In just his first season with the club, Bale won both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. The winger scored 22 goals and registered 19 assists in 44 games across all competitions, a remarkable record in his first season at the world’s most prestigious club. This was just the start of what he would go onto achieve at Madrid. 

Throughout his nine year spell at Los Blancos he would play a huge part in winning three La Liga’s, one Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de Espana, five Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and three Club World Cups. After eight seasons at the club, it goes down as an unbelievable trophy return.  However, one of his greatest achievements, is his monumental performances which saw Wales surge from 116^th in the world to eventual Euro 2016 heroes.  

Before 2016, the last time Wales qualified for a major tournament was in the 1958 World Cup  Bale led The Dragons to their first major tournament in a staggering 58 year, after a superb qualifying campaign, beating the likes of Belgium along the way. They were then drawn into a group with England, Russia and Slovakia. Wales made it out the group with flying colours, with Bale scoring a goal of the tournament contender in the process, an inch perfect free kick against rivals, England. In the last 16 they narrowly progressed against Northern Ireland, but it was the quarter final where Bale and Wales showed the world what they were really about. A Gareth Bale masterclass helped Wales to advance to their first ever major semi final, defying all odds to beat Belgium 3-1. Despite a 2-0 defeat vs eventual winners Portugal, Wales produced a tournament full of upsets and earnt the respect of the footballing world, with Gareth Bale’s standout performances at the heart of this Welsh team’s success, he enshrined himself in absolute legend status.

Six years on and Bale would be carrying his country to yet another tournament, this time ending 64 years of heartache with a 1-0 win against Ukraine at Cardiff City Stadium, and this time it was the pinnacle, the World Cup. Wales didn’t manage to make it out of the group stage on this occasion, but for a country as small as Wales to be one of thirteen European countries to qualify is an almighty achievement, no small part down to the classy winger. This record hails him as the most influential and successful player to have ever represented the Welsh national team. 

We should be used to frequent debates about Britain’s greatest footballer and it would be wise to point towards Bale, who by the time he waved goodbye to his illustrious career, had scored 185 goals and registered 132 assists in 554 appearances across all competitions, averaging a goal contribution every 147 minutes of football. Overall, he collected 16 major trophies in 17 seasons as a senior footballer, playing for Real Madrid, Tottenham and Los Angeles FC. Achievements that point to almost a trophy a season, which is a tremendous stat considering some top players can go their whole careers without winning a single trophy. His individual accolades, as well as his contribution to all the teams he has represented, really cements him as the best British football player of all time.