Gareth Bale signs new £18m-a-year Real Madrid contract until 2022

  Gareth Bale has signed a new Real Madrid contract that is worth £18 million a year and will keep him tied to the club until 2022.

The Welshman’s contract takes him to June 2022 when he will be 33 and makes him football’s third-highest paid player behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Messi and Ronaldo earn net salaries of around €21 million (£19 million) while Bale’s earning puts him ahead of Neymar, whose recently signed deal with Barcelona took him to an estimated €17 million (£15 million).



The news ends speculation over Bale’s future, including persistent reports he could move to Manchester United. Bale joins Lucas Vázquez, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who have recently extended their deals with the club.

The club statement read: “Real Madrid CF and Gareth Bale have agreed to the extension of the player ‘s contract, which is linked to the club until 30 June 2022.”

Bale moved to Spain from Tottenham for a then world record £85 million move in 2013, winning two Champions League trophies since.

He has scored 50 La Liga goals in 90 games and has struck seven in this campaign. In total, he has claimed 62 goals and recorded 34 assists in 135 official games for the Spanish giants.

He has also helped Madrid lift five trophies during his three years at the club, including the Champions League in 2014 and 2016.

Madrid have been looking to tie down their leading players as they also fight a Fifa transfer ban for breaching rules governing the transfer and registration of players aged under 18.

The club, along with city rivals Atletico, are currently banned from registering any new players in the next two transfer windows – until January 2018 – but have appealed against the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, answered his critics with a hat-trick as Real came from behind to win 4-1 at Alaves and go two points clear at the top of La Liga.

Alaves forward Deyverson pounced on an error by Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas to give the home side a shock lead in the seventh minute but the Brazilian conceded a controversial penalty in the 17th for handball, which Ronaldo calmly converted.

The Portuguese put the European champions in charge in the 33rd minute with a powerful strike that deflected off Zouhair Feddal beyond the reach of former Real goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco.

Pacheco did manage to turn away another penalty by Ronaldo in the second half but Real’s all-time top scorer netted his first treble of the season in the 88th minute after substitute Alvaro Morata had stretched Real’s lead four minutes earlier with a delightful chip.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane praised his side for their reaction to going behind, although their third straight victory was tainted by the sight of defender Pepe going off injured in the first half.

“If you do not suffer, you cannot win La Liga. We kept our heads cool even in difficult moments, which always occur in this league,” said Zidane.

Real are top of the standings with 24 points, two ahead of Barca and three clear of city rivals Atletico, and Sevilla, who drop to fourth.