Gareth Bale ready to make Real Madrid debut
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Gareth Bale is ready to make his debut for Real Madrid following his world-record transfer when the Spanish club visit Villarreal tomorrow.
The match at El Madrigal Stadium comes three days before Madrid travel to Turkey to play Galatasaray in their Champions League opener.
“We have to wait until the match day to see whether I’m picked or not,” Bale said yesterday. “But hopefully I can get my fitness up straight away and get a place in the team.”
Bale practised for the first time with Madrid on Wednesday, the day after making his first official appearance this season as a substitute for Wales in a 3-0 loss to Serbia.
Madrid said forward Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to greet Bale on his arrival to the club’s training facilities.
“He’s a nice guy,” Bale said. “He made me feel welcome just like everybody else did. They made me feel settled straight away, and I’m just looking forward to getting on the pitch and doing well.”
Bale will likely still need time to get fully fit after not playing during the drawn-out negotiations with Tottenham that ended in Madrid breaking its own transfer record for Ronaldo with a 100 million euro ($132 million) payout for the Wales winger.
Madrid have won their first three games of the Spanish league season, but they face a Villarreal who have also made a perfect start in their return to the topflight after one season in the second division.
“This is a chance to show that we can compete with anyone and fight with a team like Madrid,” Villarreal captain Bruno Soriano said. “Last season we dreamed of playing against teams like this. Now our chance has arrived and we want to play a great match.”
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will still be without injured midfielder Xabi Alonso and will now also be missing defender Marcelo after he picked up an injury with Brazil. Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi could also make his debut after recovering from injury.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad also play tomorrow to warm up for their Champions League openers.
Barcelona host a Sevilla side looking for their first win of the season.
Lionel Messi has scored a league-leading five goals in two appearances to have the Catalan club in first place on goal difference. He also scored two more goals for Argentina in the past week.
Barcelona host Ajax on Wednesday in the Champions League for their fourth win in as many rounds. They then welcome Zenit St Petersburg in their return to the Champions League on Wednesday.
Sociedad, meanwhile, visit Levante before the Basque club play Shakhtar Donetsk in Europe’s top tier club competition on Tuesday.