Bale goes extra mile for Wales

Real Madrid's Gareth Bale

Phil Blanche

Gareth Bale trained with Wales' China Cup squad just two hours after completing a marathon 7,500-mile trip from Madrid.

Bale was a scoring substitute in Real's remarkable 6-3 LaLiga victory over Girona on Sunday night before taking a private jet to Luton Airport straight after the game.

The 28-year-old spent the night in Richmond and was at Heathrow early on Monday morning to board an 11.10am flight to Guangzhou, with the journey to the Chinese city taking 10-and-a-half hours.

Bale then had to spend another four hours in transit before taking another flight to his final destination of Nanning.

He did not arrive at the team hotel until 1pm local time, but just over two hours later he was at Wales' first China Cup training session at the Guangxi Sports Center.

It is understood the FAW will receive £1million for playing in a four-team tournament, which also involves the Czech Republic and Uruguay.

But the FAW were reportedly set to suffer a £100,000 penalty if Bale did not play in the tournament.

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