GARETH RETURNS HOME TO A HERO’S WELCOME

into Luton Airport following a medical in Spain.

Bale had flown in on a private jet with Madrid team-mate Sergio Reguilon (bottom right), who is joining Tottenham on a five-year, £27million deal which could rise to £32m with add-ons.

The status of the players as elite sportsmen who have been operating within a controlled environment means they could bypass Covid quarantine laws.

The beaming smile on Bale’s face as he entered the complex that was opened during his final year at the club showed he was happy to be home.

He may have won four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles in Spain, but he was never able to win over the Spanish media or the fans.

Spurs will pay £20m to cover a loan fee and a share of Bale’s £600,000-a-week wages over the next 12 months.

Registration took place too late for an emotional trip back to Bale’s first club Southampton this Sunday, and having been frozen out of first-team affairs by Zinedine Zidane (with Bale, top right) it remains to be seen when he will be able to join in with the club’s hectic schedule.

It might not be until the end of the next international break in October that Bale is fully up to speed again.

The last time Bale signed for Spurs, as a 17-year-old in 2007, he played 25 times for the first team before he ended up on the winning side. Jose Mourinho will need him to help turn things around quicker than that after a poor start to the season.

With Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Matt Doherty also arriving over a busy summer it is a far cry from the philosophy when Mourinho was first appointed in November, declaring: “I don’t need new players, I just need to get to know these ones better.”