Gareth Bale says it is an “honour” to become a Real Madrid player after his record-breaking transfer from Tottenham was finally completed.

In an exclusive interview with BT Sport’s Jake Humphrey, Bale admitted that the transfer window has been extremely stressful but said the relief of becoming Los Blancos’ latest galactico made it all worthwhile.

You can see the full interview with Bale at 10pm on Friday evening on BT Sport 1.

Returning to Wales for the first time since his £85 million move to La Liga was confirmed, Bale said: “It’s obviously been a whirlwind few days but it was great being unveiled.

“It’s quite nice to come back and relax, and get back to normality really.”

“It’s been very stressful, to say the least. I knew they were interested from the start and I was always confident the move would go through but obviously the chairman, Daniel Levy, had to do his business and do Tottenham well so I kind of understood that.

“But at the same time, thinking of myself it was a hard time. It was stressful and I just had to be patient and try and focus and I believed they [Real Madrid] would get the deal through, and finally they did and it was great to be unveiled.”

Bale’s journey to Madrid from the principality, via the Southampton academy, is hardly typical but the star forward insisted he had always been a Real fan, and dreamt about playing for the club as a youngster.

Gareth Bale back in Cardiff Bay after finalising his move to Real Madrid

“When I was younger I had some close friends who always loved European football and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force.

“I remember family holidays when we used to go to Spain and we’d bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and pretend to be the players when we played in the park.

“I’ve followed them ever since and the football they played, the team they had, was amazing and it’s just great to be there.”

Football fans the nation over were given daily bulletins on the progress of Bale’s transfer but it was not until Sunday that the worst-kept secret in the game was finally confirmed.

How did Bale react when the deal went through? “Just a sigh of relief, to be honest,” he said.

“Travelling over there the excitement got more and more and I just felt honoured that I was going there.”

Bale is now the most expensive player in the world, but there was a time when some didn’t think he would make it as a professional footballer.

His early days at Southampton were blighted by issues with his back but the youngster overcame these difficulties, broke into the Southampton first team and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bale became the most expensive footballer of all time

“I had a lot of growing problems in my back, which made my hamstrings tighter, which meant I couldn’t run as quick.

“It affected the way I played and it was quite frustrating at the time. I was trying to do things I knew I could do before but I was restricted. I think they believed it [Bale’s talent] was still there and it was just a phase I needed to come through.

“There was a lot of debate [about Bale’s future at Southampton] but everyone at Southampton, especially Rod Ruddock, the guy who actually spotted me when I was nine, believed that I would make it and we got through that phase. I showed what I was capable of and that was the end of that.

“At that time I don’t think anyone expected anything to happen in the future as big as it did but it was thanks to all of them for the faith they showed in me.

“ I think those little strokes of luck, and the bounce of the ball, you need sometimes to get where you are and luckily that went in my favour.

“I always believed in my ability but in any sport you need that little bit of luck. A scout might be there a day you’re playing in a certain game, which obviously happened for me.

“I think there is an element of luck but I think a lot of it is down to your hard work and dedication and how much effort you put in on game days.

“That’s been there since I started and that’s still there now.”

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