Being put on pedestal will test Gareth Bale as he explores new horizon

Matt Dickinson, The Times

Published 8 minutes ago

Welshman is not an obvious candidate for the frenzy of Real Madrid, but his simple view of life could be his salvation So when the biggest transfer in the history of football is finally confirmed at an expected 99 million (about 85 million), and early next week is the schedule for his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur, what is Gareth Bale in for? David Beckham could tell him. He can let him know about the manic convoy that will follow him to the Bernabu as soon as he sets foot in Madrid, requiring six police outriders to hold off the pursuing paparazzi. Like a scene out of The French Connection, Beckham said.

He can tell him about the oak table in Real Madrids offices where Bale will ceremonially scribble his name on a contract worth gazillions while staff flutter around Florentino Prez, the president. Then there will be the grand unveiling when, wearing the revered white of Real for the first time, Bale will have to walk out on to a specially erected podium being built in the Bernabu yesterday and juggle a ball in front of thousands of fans. It felt a bit lonely out there, to be honest, Beckham reflected. There will be a mad frenzy Marca, the Madrid newspaper, carried nine pages about Bale yesterday morning but that notion of loneliness is an issue too. There is a new lifestyle to adapt to, family to settle, and we all know what happened in Beckhams private life when he was isolated. This is one of the many fascinations of the Bale move, beyond the staggering fee and who will win the first wrestling contest with Cristiano Ronaldo when Real have a 30-yard free kick. One old acquaintance of Bales who has known him since his Southampton days says: Gareth is one of the last footballers you would expect to move abroad. A friend sat next to Bale at a dinner not long ago. He said that it was like being in the company of a teenage boy who has been dragged out by his parents and itches to get home to his PlayStation. He is described as a straightforward lad, with limited horizons. Maybe that can be to his advantage if all he needs for contentment is to play football and computer games. Perhaps he can cope with the unsparing glare that will come as the most expensive footballer of all time but, if he is to succeed abroad, he must heed the lessons of the cautionary tale of Michael Owen, who moved to the Bernabu and, within weeks, was pining to be home with his family, his horses and familiar English comforts. Small things can make a big difference. Owen spent too long cramped in a hotel suite with his wife and a young child when he should have rented a house. The language and culture remained alien. In Bales case, his ability to settle is complicated by his girlfriend and young daughter spending more time in Wales than his mansion in Chigwell, Essex

 the couple supposedly christened themselves Gavin and Stacey after the long-distance TV sweethearts and Bale mostly sees them on visits back home. His representatives will not say whether they will join him in Spain. The Spanish media will want to know. Bale will be required to speak far more often than in England, though, as Madrid will discover, this teetotal, uncontroversial footballer has never knowingly said anything worth scribbling down. He will be asked everything from whether he copied his toe-down technique for free kicks from Ronaldo to whether it is true that he had his ears pinned back. With his cartoon quiff, Bale will be expected to smile sweetly through it all. There is a brand to be marketed, and probably a similar agreement to Beckham, who would split any new image rights deals 50-50 with Real. Above all, Bale will be expected to deliver spectacularly in a team still being built under Carlo Ancelotti. The Welshman is expected to take the place of Mesut zil, forming a trident with Ronaldo and Isco, the 23 million recruit from Mlaga, behind Karim Benzema (or Luis Surez if Real can prise him from Liverpool). Bale is Reals retaliation for Barcelonas signing of Neymar for 57 million, and true to the Prez habit of extravagant gestures. Bales fee will be 99 million according to Marca (Ronaldo moved for 96 million). Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, had demanded 120 million. Real travel to Granada on Monday but the expectation is that Bale will make his debut against Athletic Bilbao in the Bernabu next Sunday in the No 11 shirt billed as the eleventh galctico in the footsteps of Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Owen, Kak, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, zil and Modric. Given the fee, Bale, 24, must instantly handle comparisons not only with Neymar and Lionel Messi, but also Ronaldo, his own team-mate. The chemistry between the pair will be fascinating. The Portuguese has endured a turbulent few months at Real, falling out with Jos Mourinho and feeling unloved by the Real hierarchy, so we wait to see if he embraces his new team-mate. If egos can be set aside, two of the games most awesome athletes will be hurtling at defences in tandem.

It is a breathtaking prospect, but the possibility of internal competition is one of many daunting challenges for the son of a school caretaker from Cardiff who is about to become the worlds most expensive footballer in a foreign land at a club that does hype and expectation like no other. If Bale stops to think about everything about to unfold, it could be terrifying. Perhaps his simple approach to life is just as well.

Corner in a foreign field: notable British players who moved to Spain Laurie Cunningham (Real Madrid, 1979-83) The first British player to move to the Bernabu. He helped Real to win league and cup double in first season. Played in 1981 European Cup final defeat by Liverpool before loan spells with Gijn and Rayo Vallecano. Killed in car crash in Madrid in 1989. Steve Archibald (Barcelona, 1984-88; Espanyol 1989-90) The Scotland forward fared well at the Nou Camp, in the early years at least, and played in the 1986 European Cup final, in which Barcelona lost to Steaua Bucharest on penalties. Gary Lineker (Barcelona, 1986-89) The striker was signed by Terry Venables, whose successor, Johan Cruyff, played him on the right wing. Lineker was a hit, notably scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Real Madrid. Mark Hughes (Barcelona, 1986-87) After an unsuccessful season, the Welshman was loaned to Bayern Munich for a year. Steve McManaman (Real Madrid, 1999-2003) Won two European Cups and two Spanish league titles. The midfielders volley against Valencia in 2000 helped him to become the first Englishman to win a European Cup final with a foreign team.

Stan Collymore (Real Oviedo, 2001) The strikers stint in Spain was a debacle as he lasted only a month, and three appearances, before announcing his retirement. David Beckham (Real Madrid, 2003-07) The England captain maintained his high standards in Spain, where he won the league in 2007, and helped to sell replicas of the famous white shirt.