Bale joy at PFA Player of the Year accolade

TOTTENHAM’S Gareth Bale was last night named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.

The 21-year-old has been in imperious form for Spurs in both the Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League, becoming one of the most talked about players in the world in the process.

Bale beat six other players to the much-vaunted award and becomes the fourth Welshman to be honoured, following in the footsteps of Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs.