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Gareth Bale factfile

Sky Sports looks at the dazzling career of Tottenham's Gareth Bale after his PFA awards.

After his PFA awards, we look at the career of Gareth Bale

1989: Born July 16 in Cardiff. 2005: Joins Southampton as a trainee. 2006: April 17 - Aged 16 years, 275 days, becomes second-youngest footballer to play for Southampton in 2-0 Championship win against Millwall. May - Makes Wales Under-21 debut against Cyprus. Quickly promoted to the senior squad for a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, coming off the bench to become Wales' youngest-ever full international at 16 years and 315 days. July 16 - Signs first professional contract with Southampton on his 17th birthday. August 6 - Scores first goal for Saints with free-kick on opening day of the season in a 2-2 draw at Derby. September 5 - Makes first start for Wales in 2-0 defeat to Brazil. October 7 - Becomes Wales' youngest-ever goalscorer with a trademark free-kick in a 5-1 defeat to Slovakia. 2007: January - Bale's agent says he is happy to stay at Southampton despite Manchester United and Tottenham reportedly bidding £10million for the player. Both clubs admit their interest. May 25 - Joins Tottenham. August 26 - Makes his first-team debut for Tottenham in a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United. September 1 - Scores first Tottenham goal in away draw at Fulham. September 15 - Scores in his first north London derby against Arsenal. December 2 - Injury against Birmingham rules him out for the rest of the season. 2009: June - Undergoes knee surgery, ruling him out for the start of the 2009-10 Premier League campaign. September 26 - Tastes victory as a Premier League player for the first time in 25 attempts in the 5-0 defeat of Burnley. 2010: January 26 - Secures first victory as a Premier League starter at the 23rd time of asking. April - Scores in successive games against Arsenal and Chelsea to help Tottenham finish in the Premier League's top four. Named player of the month. May - Signs new four-year deal for Tottenham. August 25 - Sets up all four goals as Tottenham beat Young Boys 4-0 in the second leg of their Champions League qualifying game to progress to the group stages. October 20 - Scores a scintillating hat-trick against Inter Milan at the San Siro. Named Welsh player of the year by the FAW. November 2 - Produces man-of-the-match display as Tottenham beat Inter 3-1. 2011: January 28 - Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp rules out possibility of selling Bale, amid interest from Inter. March 19 - Signs new four-and-a-half-year deal with Spurs. April 17 - Named Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year. 2012: January - Named in the UEFA team of the year. Also named as Premier League player of the month for the second time. June 27 - Signs new four-year contract with Spurs. June 30 - Suffers a recurrence of an old back and hip injury after pulling up while running, ending his hopes of competing in the Olympics. September 11 - Scores the first of his 29 goals so far this season - a stunning free-kick for Wales against Serbia. October 20 - Pulls out of Tottenham's game against Chelsea just before kick-off so he can attend the birth of his first child, Alba Violet Bale. 2013: February 7 - Manager Andre Villas-Boas admits Tottenham are likely to lose Bale in the summer unless they qualify for the Champions League. February 25 - Scores a contender for goal of the season at West Ham - an injury-time winner from 30 yards. April 19 - Is shortlisted for both the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. April 27 - Villas-Boas says he has been told by Tottenham that Bale will stay if Spurs finish in the top four. April 28 - Becomes only the third player to be voted senior and young Player of the Year at the PFA Awards.

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