The full timeline of Gareth Bale's move to Los Angeles FC has been revealed in a detailed report.
Bale left Real Madrid after nine years this summer, with many clubs understood to be vying for his signature. MLS teams LAFC and DC United were always in the conversation, while his hometown club Cardiff City were also a very real consideration for the Wales captain.
According to The Athletic, the first real contact made between Bale's representatives and the California side came earlier this month after Wales booked their place in the World Cup finals after their emotional play-off win over Ukraine.
Read more: Los Angeles FC chief reveals details of Gareth Bale transfer as 'long-term' hope discussed
An agent from Stellar, the company which represents Bale, text Los Angeles FC co-president and general manager John Thorrington to ask if a conversation could be struck up about the player moving to the MLS club and it changed everything in a matter of weeks.
“Did I think, coming into the year, ‘let’s set aside money to sign Gareth Bale?’. No, that was not in my plans,” Thorrington told The Athletic. “But I did tell our ownership there will be these moments for opportunism and that we need to be in a position to strike.”
Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, told The Athletic there were "four or five" serious offers for Bale's signature, Cardiff being one of the teams 'in play', according to the publication.
“It could have been more but we narrowed the field for him — he wasn’t going to Italy or Spain, for example,” Barnett said.
It has been confirmed, too, that the signing of Bale did not take up a designated player spot for LAFC. That means that Bale will be on a basic salary of no more than £1.3m per year, roughly £25,000 per week, quite the climbdown from his £600,000-per-week pay packet at Real Madrid. Perhaps yet more evidence his next move was not motivated by cash., which is what we were told all along.
“He doesn’t need to play football — he’s one of the best-paid footballers of all time — but if all goes well, of course he could stay there for a while. Why not? He’ll have a great life there and he still enjoys playing,” Barnett said. “Let’s just see how it goes and it will be a two-way decision, too.”
While talks were ongoing between Bale's agent and LAFC, the Wales captain was ticking over at Cardiff City's Vale of Glamorgan base, the training facility they share with the FAW, whose physio was working with the player. While there he bumped into Cardiff boss Steve Morison and informed the Bluebirds that a decision over his future would be made imminently.
Talks were active between Cardiff's hierarchy and Bale's representatives while all this was going on. It is why, according to The Athletic, Bale chose to "personally convey his decision to move to MLS to those at Cardiff."
The final details of the move were ironed out over the last week. While the pool of teams battling for his signature had shrunk, those in the conversation saw it all move very quickly, with LA ending up winners in the race to capture the five-times Champions League winner.
Bale had Zoom conversations with LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo as well as Thorrington as they mapped out a vision of what a move to LA would look like. Suffice to say, he was sold on it.
“I can’t offer Gareth European Champions League football, I can’t offer him the (Champions League) trophy he lifted for the fifth time, the economic package a Champions League club or Premier League club can offer him,” John Thorrington said. “What we can offer a player like him is a unique opportunity to come and do something different.”
LAFC are top of the Western Conference table and are bidding for silverware this year before the season ends on November 5, a little more than two weeks before Wales' World Cup campaign kicks off.
“The soccer world is pretty quiet right now, and so it’s got every ounce of attention,” Thorrington added. “It’s been a whirlwind ever since the news went out.”
Bale is set for another family holiday now his decision is made. However, the trip which was meant to last until mid-July will have to be cut short if he is to play the first game for which he is eligible for his new club, at home to LA Galaxy on July 9.
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