Welsh winger Gareth Bale has fulfilled his childhood dream of playing in the Spanish league with Real Madrid.Welsh winger Gareth Bale has fulfilled his childhood dream of playing in the Spanish league with Real Madrid.

Welsh winger Gareth Bale left English football this summer to join Spanish giants Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record fee of £86 million.

The other five world record fees:

2009 Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United − Real Madrid £80m.
2009 Kaka from Milan − Real Madrid £56.1m.
2001 Zinedine Zidane from Juventus − Real Madrid £45.6m.
2013 Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid − Arsenal £42.5m.
2000 Luis Figo from Barcelona − Real Madrid £37m.

Other football items for September read:

• At the Madejski Stadium, England Under-21 beat Moldova 1-0 (Berahino) in a European Championship qualifier to ensure a happy debut for new coach Gareth Southgate.

• At Wembley, England trounce Moldova 4-0 (Gerrard, Welbeck 2, Lambert) in a World Cup qualifier. Frank Lampard makes his 100th appearance for his country.

Other results: Northern Ireland-Portugal 2-4 (McAuley, Ward), Ireland-Sweden 1-2 (Keane), Macedonia-Wales 2-1 (Ramsey), Scotland-Belgium 0-2.

• Ireland launch search for a new manager following the dismissal of Giovanni Trapattoni.

• In a Under-21 European Championship match in Tampere, England draw 1-1 against Finland.

• England gain a useful point in Ukraine in a 0-0 draw to improve their chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals.

Results: Luxembourg-Northern Ireland 3-2, Austria-Ireland 1-0, Macedonia-Scotland 1-2 (Anya, Maloney), Wales-Serbia 0-3.

• England drop three places to 17th in latest FIFA rankings, their lowest position in 12 years.

• Liverpool’s US owners give go-ahead for £150-million stadium revamp.

• Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and Daniel Sturridge are voted manager and player of the month for August.

• In the first match of the Champions League group phase, Arsenal win 2-1 in Marseille.

Other results: Manchester United-Bayer Leverkusen 4-2, Victoria Plzen-Manchester City 0-3, Chelsea-Basel 1-2, Milan-Celtic 2-0.

• In the opening group matches from the UEFA Europa League, Swansea obtain a resounding 3-0 victory in Valencia.

Results: Waregem-Wigan 0-0, Tottenham-Tromso 3-0.

• Italian Paolo di Canio becomes the first Premier League casualty after being sacked by Sunderland.

• Ireland name Noel King as their interim manager. King was asked to step up from his Under-21 job.

• Morton shock Celtic in a Scottish League Cup third round tie with a 1-0 win at Parkhead.

• League Cup holders Swansea fall at the first hurdle, losing 1-3 to Championship side Birmingham at St Andrews.

• Chesterfield’s Ritchie Humphrey is elected chairman of the FA, succeeding Clark Carlisle.

• After the home 1-2 loss to West Brom, Manchester United suffer their worst top-flight start since 1989.

• Championship side Derby sack Nigel Clough. He is replaced by Steve McClaren.

Premiership attendances
1. Manchester United - 75,101
2. Arsenal - 56,692
3. Newcastle - 49,182
4. Manchester City - 46,967
5. Liverpool - 44,662
6. Chelsea - 41,503
7. Sunderland - 41,480
8. Aston Villa - 39,826
9. Everton - 36,222
10. Tottenham Hotspur - 35,978
11. West Ham United - 34,958
12. Southampton - 29,195
13. Cardiff City - 27,409
14. Norwich City - 26,818
15. Fulham - 25,591
16. Stoke City - 25,161
17. West Bromwich - 24,639
18. Hull City - 22,815
19. Crystal Palace - 22,807
20. Swansea City - 20,742

Leading marksmen

English Premier League
6 − Sturridge (Liverpool).
5 − Remy (Newcastle).
4 − Benteke (Aston Villa), Lukaku (Everton), Aguero, Toure (Man. City), Giroud, Ramsey (Arsenal).

The Championship
9 − Rhodes (Blackburn), Vaughan (Huddersfield).
8 − Vokes (Burnley).
7 − Grabban (Bournemouth).

Scottish Premier League
8 − McKay (Inverness).
5 − Stokes (Celtic), Sutton (M’well).

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