It’s new contract season in La Liga.
In recent weeks Neymar has signed a new deal with Barcelona, while Real Madrid have been steadily signing up their top stars on new contracts like Mauricio Pochettino on speed.
Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Lucas Vazquez have all penned new deals in the last few weeks, and now Gareth Bale has joined them, ending speculation that he might be looking for a return to the Premier League.
Real announced the news on Sunday morning in a simple statement on their website
“Real Madrid CF and Gareth Bale have agreed to the extension of the player ‘s contract, which links him to the club until 30 June, 2022. On Monday, at 13:30pm, Gareth Bale will appear before the media in the room press the Bernabeu.”
The 27-year-old joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, for a then world record £86m, and has now committed to another six years with the club – and given how much they are paying him it’s no surprise.
It is being reported that Bale’s new pay packet is worth more than £600,000 a week before tax, netting him about £350,000 a week after the tax man has taken his cut.
That’s even more than the £288,000 Cristiano Ronaldo takes home every week – though the Portuguese star is likely to be the next Real player to pen a new deal, which will no doubt take him back above Bale in the salary stakes.
But why have Real Madrid been so busy signing up all their players on new long-term deals?
In short, it’s because they are not allowed to sign any new players.
The club is currently serving a ban on registering any new players – they cannot sign anyone until January 2018 after they were found guilty by Fifa of breaching the rules over signing players aged under 18.
They, along with city rivals Atletico who are in the same boat, appealed the decision in September, but lost. They have now appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but in the meantime, they need to make sure they don’t lose any of their current stars.
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