Gareth Bale and wife Emma donate £500k to Welsh health charity

Gareth Bale was born at the NHS' University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff

Gareth Bale and his wife Emma have donated £500,000 to the charitable arm of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

The Cardiff & Vale Health Charity said it was the couple's wish that the money is used on "the response to Covid-19".

The charity said the money will provide "those extras for staff and patients that normal NHS funding doesn't provide", during the pandemic.

CVUHB chief executive Len Richards said the donation was "fantastic".

The charity added in a statement: "They wanted to give something back to their local NHS as Gareth himself was born in the UHW (University Hospital of Wales) maternity unit, and they say UHW have provided many services to themselves and their family and friends.

"Thank you Gareth, you really are our star!"

Richards added: "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, and 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."

Bale's fellow Wales international Aaron Ramsey, of Juventus, has made two £10,000 donations to the NHS in Wales.

One of the sums went to the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which serves an area including Caerphilly, where Ramsey was born.

The former Cardiff City player previously gave the same sum to the same charity as Bale - Cardiff and Vale Health charity.

Other donations from football figures include Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola each giving a million euros to medical causes.