Tottenham re-sign Gareth Bale on loan

Tottenham have re-signed Wales forward Gareth Bale from Spanish champions Real Madrid on a season-long loan.

Bale, 31, left Spurs for a then world record £85m in 2013 and went on to score more than 100 goals and win four Champions Leagues with Real.

“It’s nice to be back. It’s such a special club to me. It’s where I made my name,” said Bale.

“Hopefully, now I can get some match fitness, get under way and really help the team and, hopefully, win trophies.”

He added: “I always thought when I did leave that I would love to come back.”

He originally joined Tottenham as a 17-year-old from Southampton in 2007 for an initial payment of £5m.

Bale has also won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, three Uefa Super Cups and three Club World Cups with Real.

He remains the most expensive British player in history, as well as the top-scoring British player in La Liga – with 80 goals and 40 assists in 171 league appearances, averaging a goal or assist every 104 minutes.

However, a run of injuries, indifferent form and a deteriorating relationship with manager Zinedine Zidane had seen Bale become a marginal figure.

From the world’s most expensive signing to a player on the fringes

Real eclipsed the £80m they paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 to take Bale to the Bernabeu, with the forward signing an initial £300,000-per-week, six-year contract.

He extended his stay with a new six-year deal in 2016, reported to be worth £600,000 a week – and £150m over its duration – in salaries and bonuses.