Record Fee: 100 Million Euros (£85.3m)
The news of Welsh footballer, Gareth Bale becoming the most expensive player in football history on the night of September 1st has been the most dominant item on news websites, television, print, and other forms of global media world over.
The 100 million Euros move from Tottenham Hotspurs to Real Madrid might have shocked the 24 year old player himself as he described it as “a dream come true”. He is the first player from Wales to play for Real Madrid and only the 13th British man to feature Spanish Club.
“I have had six very happy years at Tottenham, but it’s the right time to say goodbye,” Bale, who has agreed a £300,000 per week, six-year deal said.
The talking points about this move are many and will definitely continue to move on for a long time almost everywhere, on news sites, homes, schools, hospitals, stadia, in the locker rooms, streets, public transport means, homes, offices, markets, name it.
The dream move surpasses the previous transfer record of 80 million pounds that was spent on -bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu from Manchester United.
Back home here in Uganda, the Gareth Bale bug had picked momentum months back before the transfer was executed.
But the major topic of discussion is how best should the move inspire the domestically based players to enjoy and play the beautiful game of football and most importantly enjoy the huge sums of money even though not in the Bale proportion.
On record, Uganda, one of the developing countries plagued by a high level of corruption and poverty, will forever be left in dreamland when the topic of local football transfers is up for discussion.
The official biggest local transfer was US$10,000 that Sports Club Victoria University, then a big league outfit paid for acquiring the dreadlocked defender cum midfielder, Dennis Iguma from Sports Club Villa.
That transfer beat the record set by Simon Sserunkuma who joined Villa from Victors F.C for $8,000 in July 2009. Simon Sserunkuma had outwitted the legendary Hassan Mubiru’s deal of transferring from arch-rivals SC Villa to Express at a fee estimated to be $3,000. Mubiru then earned a nick name of Louis Figo, who was then the most expensive signing from Barcelona to Real Madrid at £37m (July 2000).
Other transfers have gone quite silent for different reasons or even unmentioned with club bosses reportedly violating contracts at the expense of the ‘Poor players’ many of whom cannot even afford fees to hire lawyers to sue their masters.
The Gareth Bale transfer should be a great motivation for Ugandan players. It is a big turning point that at only 24 years of age, Bale has such an incredible price tag. Adequate preparation through regular training sessions, the right attitude, discipline, good diet among other factors are important attributes of successful sportsmen.
What People Say about Gareth Bale:
Zinedine Zidane: “He makes things look easy. His pace is frightening; his acceleration is unbelievable because he has the ability to go through the gears in little space” .
Andre Villas –Boas: “The player’s a wonderful player, he’s agreed to join Real Madrid, so we wish him all the best,” Villas-Boas said. He’s left us with great memories from last season, which I think every Tottenham fan cherishes, but he has moved on and we move on as well. “We have to move forward. Tottenham has made some great reinvestment with the money that will come from Gareth Bale into the team, which is wonderful.” .
Gwyn Morris (Bale’s PE teacher) : “His feet are firmly on the ground, he hasn’t forgotten where he came from”.
Emma Rhys-Jones (His Lover): “He is beguilingly modest, polite and normal”.
Gary Lineker BBC Commentator: “It’s very important for Gareth to throw his heart and soul into this move. He’s got it all and ability-wise he is phenomenal. The only question is whether he’s got the mental strength to cope with such a big transfer and the spotlight that will be immense in Spain”.
About Gareth Bale:
Born: 16 July 1989 in Cardiff
Family: Father Gareth Frank Bale, a retired school caretaker, and mother Debbie, who worked in a solicitors’ office.
School life: Gareth played rugby, cricket, hockey and football. He also excelled in athletics.
Girlfriend: Lives in Essex with his long-time girlfriend, Emma Rhys-Jones. Their first child, Alba Violet, was born in 2012.
Bale becomes Real Madrid’s 11th Galactico after Luis Figo £37m (July 2000), Zinedine Zidane £45m (July 2001), Ronaldo De Lima £28m (Sept 2002), David Beckham £24.5m (June 2003), Michael Owen £8m (Aug 2004), Kaka £56m (Aug 2004), Cristiano Ronaldo £80m (July 2009), Karim Benzema £35m (July 2009), Mesut Ozil £12.5m (July 2010), Luka Modric £35m (Aug 2012).
English players at Real Madrid:
Johnson, Linney, Lindsay, Stampher, Wallace and Vickerstaff played for Real Madrid. In 1948, Scottish player Watson arrived, paving the way for Cunningham. The English attacker joined Real Madrid in 1979 and was one of the biggest acquisitions of his time.
The next British acquisition was that of McManaman in 1999. The midfielder helped the team to win two Champions League, which included a goal in the final at the Eighth game. In the last decade, Owen, Woodgate , David Beckham and now Gareth Bale complete this list.
Article Credits: BBC Sport, Real Madrid Web Site, EM Sports, Kawowo Sports Data base.
