LAFC confirms signature
Gareth Bale has practically confirmed his move to America’s Major League Soccer. In the jersey of Los Angeles FC and with a cap on his head, the 32-year-old Welshman presented himself on Twitter on Sunday night. He wrote, “See you soon Los Angeles.”
The MLS club immediately retweeted Bale’s message and officially announced the transfer a day later. The long-time Real Madrid professional has signed a contract until the summer of 2023 with an option to extend it until the end of 2024. Los Angeles FC is coached by former Bundesliga professional Steven Cherundolo, after Italian defense icon Giorgio Chiellini recently switched there. Bale is the second newcomer.
World class pedigree. #LAFC | @GarethBale11
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 27, 2022
Previously had already “The Athletic‘ with a view to agreeing on a one-year contract with an option to extend it. The Bale transfer comes as part of a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) deal, which means the Welshman does not require the club to have a Designated Player spot in the squad but is still allowed to earn more than the $612,500 salary cap (around 580,000 euros) per year. For such deals, in which the salary is increased from the upper limit with “allocation money”, each club has 2.8 million US dollars (around 2.65 million euros) available. Chiellini’s transfer was also handled in the same way. According to its own statements, the LAFC acquired the so-called “Discovery Priority” for 75,000 US dollars (around 71,000 euros) from Inter Miami. Bale had also been linked with moves to Getafe and Cardiff City in recent weeks.
Bale, Dembélé & Co.: All transfers over 100 million in chronological order
Other models for hiring big stars are also possible: city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy, for example, once hired Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a salary below the salary cap, but in the process transferred him shares in the Swedish subsidiary of the owner company AEG, which in turn owns the Hammarby IF club , which means that the star striker is now a partner there. In Bale’s case, however, such a deal has not yet been announced.
Bale from Real Madrid to LAFC: Still among world’s most expensive transfers today
His contract at Real ends this month. Bale joined Los Blancos from Tottenham Hotspur in September 2013. With a transfer fee of 101 million euros, the attacker was considered the most expensive player in the world at the time and is still among the top 15 in this ranking today. He won the Champions League five times with Real alone, but has not played a major role on the pitch for a long time. Also due to injury, he made just five appearances in the league with the new Spanish champions last season. His new club currently leads the Western Conference in MLS.
Note: The first version of this article appeared on Transfermarkt on June 26 and was updated after the LAFC’s completion report.
See you soon, Los Angeles. @LAFC @LAFC3252 pic.twitter.com/GVP8WVWLPe
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) June 25, 2022
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