Taxi for Bale... or should that be limousine?

GARETH BALE the promising prodigy is a thing of the past. Will Bale the galactico please stand up?

Seeing Real Madrid unveil the world's new most expensive player hammered home what we've known for weeks - his Tottenham days are done... Taxi for Bale!!

Yet you can be sure it wasn't a taxi that took him from Madrid airport to his new theatre stage, those days are done as well. 

A limousine is more like it, although if the reported contract he is on is accurate, Bale never needs to be driven anywhere again.

Between private jets, helicopters and yachts, his feet only have to touch the ground when he's playing football. 

And his new employers would probably prefer it that way because, when Real pay that sort of money for someone, they aren't just buying a footballer but investing in a superstar.

The confident well-preened young man out there speaking Spanish and doing tricks in the middle of the Bernabeu was no longer the wide-eyed youth whose every touch bore more potential than the last.

It was GB11, the brand - a globally public figure expected to appeal to millions of fans and generate squillions of euros.

Former managers and mentors all say Bale is a homeboy at heart and will not be blinded by the bright lights or sell out to celebrity.

But, like CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) and DB23 (David Beckham) before him, Real expect his entertainment value and image rights to more than pay for his astronomical transfer fee.

The sky is no longer the limit for Bale mark II, it's the minimum requirement.

There will still be Spurs fans annoyed at the way the transfer saga played out. 

But the groundswell of opinion is that the man responsible for all the great memories, the amazing goals and the explosive excitement deserves his crack at the bigtime.

The innocent lad who found his feet in front of the White Hart Lane crowd and grew into one of the finest Premier League talents has more than earned his dream move - especially when you look at the rack of replacements he has effectively paid for. 

And if that means Bale has enrolled in a future of backwards baseball caps and personalised sportswear then so be it.

He'll still be welcomed back at Tottenham and, if he does remain a homeboy, then there'll probably still be Spurs fans waiting for autographs when his yacht sails back up the Welsh coast.

So, for one final time... Taxi, well, private jet for GB11.