After multiple reports on Saturday indicated Gareth Bale is headed to MLS club Los Angeles FC, fans in the United States expressed a great deal of excitement.
The Real Madrid and Wales wizard is gearing up for a new start after a glittering, if at times controversial, career at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It is a coup for LAFC, who also recently added Giorgio Chiellini from Juventus.
Reactions to Bale's reported move
Gareth Bale going to create havoc in the MLS
— Sean Markus Clifford (@seanmarkus_67) June 25, 2022
Seeing a lot of golf jokes on the TL but folks,, getting Bale on a TAM deal is insane and if he’s healthy he will absolutely rip MLS up
— Ryan Catanese (@rcatanese) June 25, 2022
Gareth Bale to LAFC. Hollywood ending to his career. Top of the league as well...
— Phil Cadden (@pjcadden) June 25, 2022
Bale to @LAFC on the back of Chiellini and linking up with Vela is pretty wild.
— Dean Jones (@DeanJonesSoccer) June 25, 2022
I’m so here for this - he’s genuinely going to love it there. The 3252 fanbase is as passionate as any I have ever seen 🙌🏼🇺🇸
Gareth Bale 🏴
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 25, 2022
Lorenzo Insigne 🇮🇹
Xherdan Shaqiri 🇨🇭
Chicharito 🇲🇽
All in MLS. ⭐️ 🌟 pic.twitter.com/EiLhntosfG
Five Champions League trophies later... 🤍 pic.twitter.com/dJEhcuFejS
— GOAL (@goal) June 25, 2022
The story so far for Bale
One of, if not the most successful British player in history in terms of winners' medals, Bale will bring to MLS a wealth of experience - not to mention his still fresh talent, if his performances in taking Wales to the World Cup are anything to go by.
The forward first arrived at Madrid in 2013 from Tottenham and made an immediate impact on the Merengue, scoring a crucial extra-time goal in the Champions League final to down Atletico Madrid.
That was the first of five Champions League titles Bale won with Madrid, while in all competitions he scored a total of 106 goals in 258 games, sharing one of the greatest forward lines in history with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.