This is what 100 million euros buys you at football's current exchange rate. Garath Bale, a Real Madrid player at last, are greeted like a hero on his very first day. He made an effort to fit in, with little Spanish.
Bale was joined by part Emma Rhys Jones and their 10-month-old daughter Alba Violet, who may take as long to settle in Madrid as her father.
Unlike the transfer, tickets were free. More than 15,000 fans queued for hours to get in.
-It's very special for Real Madrid. and it's a great event for all the Madrids, Madrid the City; it's very special.
-We are very happy to have Gareth Bale here with us today.
-He's a great player; I think he's what his team needs; he's really fast, he's really-he's strong I mean. He's perfect.
They saw Bale display some of the skills that will earn him 300,000 pounds a week. Though nerves them they were not his best.Some are successfully using their juggling skill to earn just a handful of euros.
Bale's wages are at odds with economy reality in Spain, where many here face different pressures to earn a living. The Spanish economy is in crisis; its banks have been bailed out by the European Union, and unemployment in Garath Bale's age group is running up more than 50 percent. But the real economy is very different to the real economy. At the Bernabeu business is booming.
-The club expects to get a lot of income by having Bale play for it, and it will get a part of the names on shirts and all that they really charge for. So the expectation is that Real Madrid will be better off with this great player.
Today with as much about Bale the brand as Bale the footballer, the goal for trophies will need to follow if he still repay Real Madrid's massive investment. The hard work starts now.
