Gareth Bale Will NOT Wear Iconic No 11 Shirt At Real Madrid Next Season After Tottenham Return

Gareth Bale has been left without his favoured No 11 Real Madrid shirt after returning from his season-long loan at Tottenham this summer.

The 32-year-old Welsh winger wore No 9 during his return to the Premier League with Spurs, with Erik Lamela occupying the No 11 Tottenham shirt at the time.

However, Bale's time at Tottenham meant that Marco Asensio came swooping in and traded in his No 20 shirt for the No 11 at Madrid.

The Madrid star has only worn the No 11 shirt at Los Blancos since his then-world-record move from Spurs in 2013.

And now Bale will have limited choice on a new number ahead of his current Madrid deal expiring next summer.

According to Diario AS, the only number available is 16 after Luka Jovic went out on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt last season.

However, Bale could see another number choice open up with the imminent departure of Raphael Varane.

PA

Read More:

• Championship club become shock favourites to sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid this summer

Casemiro, who is currently No 16 at Madrid, could take the No 5 shirt from Varane after the Frenchman officially signs for Manchester United.

The 29-year-old Brazilian midfielder currently wears No 5 with the Brazil national team.

Casemiro's number change would mean that Bale and Dani Ceballos, who has been on loan at Arsenal, would have 14 and 16 to choose from ahead of the new La Liga season.

PA

Bale has won two La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and a Copa del Rey during his time with Los Blancos.

However, his relationship with former Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane soured and he was linked with a move to the Chinese Super League before the deal collapsed.

Bale's future in Madrid has remained uncertain after returning from Tottenham, but he is expected to see out his final year before leaving on a free in 2022.

The Wales international has been heavily linked with a move to the MLS ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Topics: Football, gareth bale, Spain, Real Madrid, La Liga

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9