A little over a week after Neymar put pen to paper on a new five-year deal with Barcelona, Real Madrid have announced that Gareth Bale has committed his future to the club by signing an extension running until June 30, 2022.
While the Welshman and Brazilian have mirrored each others’ time in Spain by joining their respective clubs in 2013 and helping them to achieve Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League success, the details of their new deals highlight the growing importance of Bale to Los Blancos — the 27-year-old has become an integral leader at the club and will be relied upon more than ever this campaign.
Accordingly, Real will reward him with £150m over the next six years, making him the best-paid player in the world. Bale will reportedly earn £350,000 a week after tax. For those keeping score, that’s quite a bit more than the estimated £288,000 that Ronaldo earns every week.
Gareth Bale's new contract at Real Madrid:
£350,000/week
£50,000/day
£2083/hour
£34/minuteLiving the dream. pic.twitter.com/6WYhQj1Uyd
— Uber Football Facts (@UberFootbalI) October 31, 2016
Neymar’s extension will earn him €16 million a year, less than Bale, Ronaldo and teammate Lionel Messi. Real have also set a buyout clause of €1bn for Bale, whereas Neymar’s has been capped at €250m, giving the slightest bit of hope to Paris Saint-Germain that they can still land the Brazilian over the coming transfer windows.
Bale has scored 50 goals in 90 La Liga appearances for Real, Neymar has registered 59 in 101 over that same period. However, with the incessant rumor of a possible return to the Premier League in the cards, and with Real facing a FIFA transfer ban over the next two transfer windows, it’s obvious that Los Blancos were willing to go to any lengths to ensure that the Welsh captain committed his future to the Bernabeu.
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