Coronavirus: Gareth Bale and wife Emma donate £500,000 to Cardiff hospital charity

Wednesday 22 April 2020 19:15, UK

Gareth Bale and his wife Emma have donated £500,000 to a hospital in south Wales to help with the coronavirus pandemic and it is understood they are set to give the same amount in euros – around £439,000 - to the Spanish National Health System.

The Real Madrid and Wales star, along with his wife, have donated the money to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, the hospital he was born in.

Cardiff & Vale Health Charity, the official charity of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, have thanked the couple, describing the figure as a "whopping £500,000".

Len Richards, chief executive at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: "I'd like to say a big thank you to Gareth, Emma and their family for this fantastic donation.

"It's so heartening to hear they have chosen to give something back to their local hospital to say thank you for the services both them, their family and friends have received and to recognise all the hard work the staff and all at our hospitals are doing at this very difficult time.

"I would also like to say that gestures like this are testament to the fantastic work that our clinical and support colleagues carry out every day. Thank you so much."

All football in Spain has been on hold since March 10 due to the spread of the virus in the country with the second-highest death toll in Europe behind Italy, at over 21,000.