Gareth Bale has signed for Real
Madrid in a world-record 100
million euro transfer, it has been
confirmed. Tottenham Hotspur and the
Spanish club announced the deal
had been completed in separate
official statements. Real are understood to have paid
100 million euros (£85.3m) for
Bale, who has signed a six-year
deal. The deal is subject to Bale
passing a medical with the nine-
time European champions, with
all other details resolved. Real Madrid announced on their
website: "Real Madrid and
Tottenham Hotspur have
reached an agreement for the
transfer of Gareth Bale, who will
be contracted to the club for the next six seasons." A post on Spurs' Twitter page
said: "The club can announce
that it has reached agreement
with Real Madrid for the
transfer of Gareth Bale." Real say the 24-year-old will be
presented as their new player at
their ground, the Bernabeu, on
Monday at midday UK time. Bale thanked everyone at Spurs
and the club's "fantastic" fans in
a statement. "I am not sure there is ever a
good time to leave a club where
I felt settled and was playing
the best football of my career to
date," he said. "I know many players talk of
their desire to join the club of
their boyhood dreams, but I can
honestly say, this is my dream
come true. "I am well aware that I would
not be at the level I am today
were it not for firstly
Southampton and then Spurs
standing by me during some of
the tougher times and affording me the environment and support
they have. "Tottenham will always be in my
heart and I'm sure that this
season will be a successful one
for them. I am now looking
forward to the next exciting
chapter in my life, playing football for Real Madrid." Spurs manager Andre Villas-
Boas, speaking after
Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at
Arsenal, said: "He is going to join
Real Madrid so we wish him all
the best. "The player is an absolutely
wonderful player. He has left us
with some great memories from
last season which
every Tottenham fan cherishes,
but he has moved on and we will move on as well." Spurs had initially resisted
Real's advances, but chairman
Daniel Levy said he felt he had
no option but to let the Welshman
go. "Gareth was a player we had
absolutely no intention of selling
as we look to build for the
future," Levy told Tottenham's
website. "He is a player whose career we
have fostered and developed
and he was only a year into his
new four-year contract. "Such has been the attention
from Real Madrid and so great
is Gareth's desire to join them,
that we have taken the view that
the player will not be sufficiently
committed to our campaign in the current season. "We have, therefore, with great
reluctance, agreed to this sale
and do so in the knowledge that
we have an exceptionally strong
squad to which we have added
no fewer than seven top internationals. "More importantly, we have an
immense team spirit and a
dressing room that is hungry for
success. We wish Gareth all the
best in the future and he shall
always be welcome at (White Hart) Lane." Sky News Sports Correspondent
Paul Kelso, in Madrid, said the
move represented a gamble for
the Spanish side. "It's a huge amount of money for
a footballer who's only 24 years
old and is yet to win a major
trophy," he said. "This is an enormous show of
faith from Real Madrid in the
potential Gareth Bale has to
become a truly global superstar,
and it's a fantastic piece of
business for Tottenham Hotspur. "They're losing their most
important player but have
managed to use this transfer to
fund 100 millions euros of
spending to try and replace him.

http://news.sky.com/story/1135860/gareth-bale-spurs-real-madrid-move-confirmed