Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has been name Welsh Player of the Year at an awards ceremony.
It is the third time the 24-year-old has won the award, bringing him level with Mark Hughes, who also played in Spain during his career – at La Liga rivals Barcelona. The award for Bale comes at the end of a huge 12 months for the star, whose outstanding form lead to a 91 million euro move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
He scored 31 goals in 53 appearances for club and country last season, making him one of the top players in Europe. Although a number of the continent’s leading clubs coveted him, Bale said he always wanted to join the nine-time European Cup winners.
As well as the Welsh Player of the Year Award, Bale also picked up the Fans’ Player of the Year gong too, and international boss Chris Coleman said he would only get better in the Spanish capital.
“Gareth’s definitely one of the best players I’ve seen. I’ve had the fortune of being up close and personal with him in training and he’s a player that can take your breath away,” he said.
“In two or three seconds, he will do something that nobody else can do. He’s a special player. He’s serious about Wales, he’s a Cardiff boy and patriotic and what he does for Welsh football is raise the interest in football for our country. He’s brought that for us.
“He’s a great player – and I still think he’s getting better because of his age. He’ll only get better working under a manager like Carlo Ancelotti and playing for Real Madrid with players like Cristiano Ronaldo.”
