On this day in 2013, Gareth Bale made history at the PFA Player of the Year awards, capping off an incredible season at Tottenham.

In order to win the senior trophy for the 2012–13 season, Bale defeated rivals Luis Suarez, Robin van Persie, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Michael Carrick.

The Wales forward became the third player in history to win both the Young Player of the Year award and the Player of the Year award in the same season, following Andy Gray and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It’s an enormous honor,” Bale remarked.

One of the most important things in the game is to be voted on by your peers. I’m happy to have won it, and that’s amazing.”

In 2007, Ronaldo won the top prize in addition to the young player award, thirty years after Gray became the first professional to accomplish so.

Two years prior, Bale had won the senior award after becoming well-known both nationally and in the Champions League through a string of electrifying performances.

After becoming a goal-scoring machine in 2012–13 and making 52 appearances for both club and country, he improved even more and signed a record-breaking £85.3 million deal to join Real Madrid that summer.

Bale rose to prominence with Real Madrid, where he won five Champions Leagues and scored twice in the team’s victory over Liverpool in the 2018 final. After playing for a while in the US, Bale retired in January 2023.