Bale scores on Real debut while Ronaldo signs bumper new deal
THE WORLD’S most expensive player Gareth Bale marked his Real Madrid debut with a goal, but his new club were held to a 2-2 draw by Villarreal on Saturday.
The Wales winger, who moved from Tottenham for £85.3m last month, opened his account for Real with a close range finish on the stroke of half-time.
Having missed most of pre-season with a foot injury though, Bale was only able to complete 62 minutes of action, but has his sights set on featuring in Real’s Champions League clash with Galatasaray tomorrow night.
“Proud to score on my debut and pleased to get 60 minutes, just disappointed not to get the result,” he tweeted. “Looking forward to Tuesday now.”
Also on the score sheet for Real was the world’s second most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was yesterday rewarded with a new five-year contract.
The 28-year-old’s salary is believed to eclipse the £300,000 earned by Bale each week. However, Ronaldo insists his motivation is trophies not money.
“In life there are things more important than money,” he said. “It is important, I’m not going to lie, but the project is to win things.
“I feel integrated into this project. The issue is not whether I’m the best paid player in the world, the second or the third.”