Bale rules out return to the English Premier after Cardiff glory night
● Welshman happy in Madrid after his third Champions League success
Gareth Bale wants to make more history at Real Madrid after pledging his future to the Spanish giants.
Bale won his third Champions League winner’s medal in four seasons as Real swept aside Juventus 4-1 in his home city of Cardiff on Saturday evening.
But Bale was reduced to the role of bit-part player after recent injury problems, sent on only for the final 13 minutes at the National Stadium of Wales with the game already won.
Bale’s injury woes this season – and the impressive displays of Spanish playmaker Isco in his absence – have led to suggestions that the Wales midfielder could return to the Premier League this summer. But the 27-year-old says he is determined to remain in Madrid and add to his impressive trophy collection at the Bernabeu.
“I have signed a long-term contract at Madrid,” said Bale, who last October committed himself to Real until 2022.
“My family is happy and I am happy, so yes we will continue what we are doing. We are winning trophies and I am happy.”
Real’s victory saw them become European champions for a record 12th time as Zinedine Zidane’s side became the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era.
Juventus had started the match superbly and, after Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring by turning home Real’s first shot on goal, Mario Mandzukic, pictured, scored a sublime overhead kick from just inside the box – surely one of the greatest goals to grace this stage. It was the least the Bianconeri deserved.
But Juventus’s dreams of a first Champions League title in 21 years ended in heartbreak as Madrid upped the ante, regaining their lead as Casemiro’s 30-yard drive flew home via a deflection.
Matters were quickly compounded as Ronaldo turned home at the near post to take his goal tally for club and country to 600.
Things went from bad to worse for Juve when Real captain Sergio Ramos’s theatrical reaction earned substitute Juan Cuadrado a second booking, and then Marco Asensio compounded matters at the death with a fourth goal.
Bale believes the current Real Madrid team have taken their place among the club’s great sides of the past.
“We have won three Champions Leagues in four seasons so we have to be in that category,” he said.
“All we can keep doing is keep working hard and hopefully there will be more to come. I think we can get better. We are still quite young as a whole team and we have a great squad.
“Winning again adds to the history of this club. This club is the biggest in Champions League history. It’s great to be a part of and we want to win more.”
Bale now plans to return to full fitness over the summer after a mixed 12 months. He memorably helped Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in France last summer, but then missed three months of this season after undergoing ankle surgery in November.
Bale was injured again in the El Clasico against Barcelona on 23 April, effectively ending his hopes of starting in Cardiff, and he later admitted he may have rushed his return following his ankle operation.
“My ankle will be fine in the long term,” Bale said. “It just needs to be given recovery time.
“There is scar tissue and all that and it takes time to get rid of it.
“I only found out I wasn’t going to start just before the game. But I always knew really because I’d only been training for five days with the team and I was really lucky to be involved, to be honest.
“I’ve worked double sessions for three, four weeks to get myself ready for this and recover from the surgery.
“But I will be able to rest in the summer, do some more rehab and then come back next season stronger.”