5 players who left their clubs after signing new long-term contracts

#2 Gareth Bale

Puts pen to paper on a new four-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur in June 2012. Real Madrid announces Bale’s signing on 1 September 2013. New contract runs for 14 months.

Gareth Bale had always been a prized asset for Tottenham ever since he made the transition from an injury-prone wing-back to a skilful and mature attacking midfielder/winger. Tottenham, for all their ambitions to join the big league of Manchester United, Arsenal and co., were still a club barely managing to stay on the fringes of European football, let alone dream of winning trophies.

But Gareth Bale, being pursued by the mightiest of clubs with the heftiest of cheque amounts, signed a bumper new four-year contract with the North Londoners in June 2012 and proudly remarked, "The fans have been great to me and I'd love to repay them and do the very best for them. I want to play my part in trying to get us back into the Champions League - where we belong."

But as another season in the Europa League beckoned for Tottenham, Real Madrid shocked the world on deadline day as they signed Bale in a record-shattering deal worth approximately £86 million.

Contrary to many projections, Bale got accustomed to Spanish football like fish to water and formed a venomous attacking partnership with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was directly involved in 38 of Madrid’s 160 goals (22 goals, 16 assists), scored the winner in both the Champions League and Copa del Ray final and etched his indelible mark in the illustrious history of Real Madrid in his very first season.