Gareth Bale becomes sixth player to win Champions League or European Cup in hometown

Gareth Bale lifted the Champions League trophy in Cardiff on Saturday

Gareth Bale joined an exclusive club of Champions League winners to lift the trophy in their hometown after Real Madrid's win over Juventus in Cardiff.

The Welshman - who had faced a race against time to be fit for the match - was subbed on with 13 minutes to play and helped Real to a 4-1 victory, which sealed their third European triumph in four years and 12th title overall.

Only five players had previously had the honour of lifting the European Cup or Champions League in their hometown - but that's just what Bale did on Saturday.

Nicolas Anelka was the last player to achieve the feat - doing so while he was at Real Madrid, too. The Frenchman from Versailles helped Real to the crown in 2000, in a 3-0 win over Valencia in Paris' Stade de France.

Here's the list of players to have won Europe's elite club competition in familiar surroundings:

Hometown winners of the European Cup/Champions League Player Place of birth Venue Year of final Team Opponent Score Enrique Mateos Madrid Santiago Bernabeu 1957 Real Madrid Fiorentina 2-0 Miguel Munoz Madrid Santiago Bernabeu 1957 Real Madrid Fiorentina 2-0 Alex Stepney Mitcham Wembley 1968 Man Utd Benfica 4-1 Angelo di Livio Rome Stadio Olimpico 1996 Juventus Ajax 1-1 (pens) Nicolas Anelka Versailles Stade de France 2000 Real Madrid Valencia 3-0 Gareth Bale Cariff Principality Stadium 2017 Real Madrid Juventus 4-1

Conversely, there are 10 players to have suffered final heartbreak in their hometown - including Londoners Rio Ferdinand and Chris Smalling, Munich-born Philipp Lahm and Sky Sports' Thierry Henry, who comes from Les Ulis, a suburb of Paris.

Thomas Muller, born in Weilheim, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, born in Kolbermoor, are from just outside of Munich - the scene of their 2012 penalty shootout final defeat to Chelsea.

Here's the list of players who lost Champions League finals in their hometown: