Bale alivyokaribishwa Real Madrid

Gareth Bale’s parents, Frank and Debbie, probably never dreamt their only son would become the world’s most expensive footballer, and they certainly wouldn’t have imagined they’d be playing a central role in a scene that could have come straight out of a comedy spin-off: Gavin And Stacey Go To Madrid.

There were many surreal moments during Real Madrid’s ceremonial unveiling yesterday of 24-year-old Bale, the former Tottenham Hotspur winger whose world-record fee eclipsed even that paid four years ago for his brilliant new teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo. 

But his family’s self-conscious ascent to a purpose-built stage in front of an over-excited crowd of 40,000 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, where they smiled sheepishly for a huge battery of cameras, was the most gloriously unlikely of them all.

(Left-to-right) Gareth Bale's friend Ellis Randall, mother-in-law Suzanne McMurray, wife Emma Rhys-Jones, daughter Alba (in arms), father Frank, Gareth Bale, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, mother Deborah, sister Vicky, niece Georgia (down), nephew Max (in arms), brother-in-law Richard Baldock and grandfather Dennis Pike

Childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys poses for pictures with Bale

Bale was joined at the Bernabeu with his long-term girlfriend Emma Rhys-Jones and their daughter Alba Violet Bale.

Thousands of fans flocked to the Bernabeu to get their first glimpse of Bale in a Real Madrid shirt

The man from Cardiff will now ply his trade in front of 85,000 fanatical fans at the Spanish giant

Tens of thousands of screaming fans packed into the Bernabeu to welcome the most expensive player on earth.

Gareth Bale pictured having a medical today before he signed his new contract

Daily Mail