Bale must be one in a billion
IT is the most expensively assembled forward line ever to contest a Champions League final.
And Real Madrid are desperate for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to give them their money’s worth in Lisbon on Saturday and deliver the club’s 10th European Cup.
The strike force the Spanish have dubbed the ‘BBC’ — Bale, (Karim) Benzema and Cristiano — was assembled at a cost of £187million, with Bale and Ronaldo alone costing £165m. Real’s overall spend since the turn of the century is more than £1.2billion, an outlay that has delivered one European Cup, back in 2002.
Bale and Ronaldo’s mission against city rivals Atletico is to make it more than just one in a billion and give Real a slice of history as the first club to win Europe’s elite competition 10 times.
The hope among their fans is the pair will punish the Champions League’s meanest defence.
‘Since I arrived at Real Madrid, Cristiano has been amazing with me, on and off the pitch,’ Bale admitted.
Ronaldo insists the admiration is mutual. ‘Gareth has played brilliantly in all three competitions,’ he said.
So, as Real pursue their 10th triumph, the cost of winning it stands at £1.2billion.
The last 100m euros spent on Bale may turn out to be the most important of all.