Champions League Final: Winning at home is a dream come true, says Gareth Bale

To the delight of the home crowd, Gareth Bale entered the Champions League 2017 final in the 77th minute. Bale returned only last week to training after staying out for more than a month due to ankle injury.

gareth bale, bale, real madrid vs juventus, real, juve, champions league, champions league final, football, sports news, indian express

Gareth Bale celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League (Source: Reuters)

Even though Gareth Bale did not start for Real Madrid in the Champions League 2017 final on Saturday, he celebrated the title with his teammates in his hometown after they beat Juventus 4-1.

Bale was out with an ankle injury for around six weeks and returned back to training only the last weekend. In-form Isco was chosen over the Welsch to start for Los Blancos. To the delight of the crowd, Bale was sent to replace Karim Benzema in the final ten minutes of the final at the Millenium stadium.

The 27-year old striker said that the Champions Trophy was a reward for the tireless work he had put in. “To win at home is a dream come true. It’s been a hard season and I’ve worked hard. At one point it didn’t seem like I was going to make it to the final but I’ve worked tirelessly at home and this is the reward you get for all the hard work you’ve put in,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

Even though Bale. who scored a goal in the 2014 final, did not start for the winning side, he had no regrets and was happy to play the few minutes that he did. “It’s been a difficult season, so I understood the circumstances,” he said. “I was happy I got on to play.”

Bale, who scored only nine goals this season, said that he was very happy to create more history with the club. Real Madrid lifted the 12th UCL title and also became the only team to retain the title. “We’ve made more history. I’m a very happy man to win the 12th and we’ll enjoy this moment now.”