Gareth Bale turned up at a Welsh chip shop for dinner and ended up doing a lovely thing

Gareth Bale turned up at a chip shop in Pontyclun and ended up going inside the owner's home to meet the family, and one special fan in particular.

The Wales legend retired from football in January 2023, after appearing at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. His busy post-retirement life has seen him compete at various golf tournaments and spend more time with his family, who still have a home in LA, but he has recently been back in Wales, where he has a vast property in the Vale of Glamorgan.

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And, despite his Hollywood status, the Real Madrid icon turned up at Big Sam's takeaway in Pontyclun with a couple of mates in search of supper. The takeaway posted a picture of Bale with Big Sam's family member and football superfan Raj Aulakh.

The caption said: "A Welsh institution visits another Welsh institution! Today at Big Sam's we had the absolute pleasure of serving this lovely gent.

"Not only was Gareth Bale kind enough to take pictures with some of us in the shop, but he also came into the flat to take a picture with Raj. He couldn't have been a lovelier bloke and we hope to see him again soon #cymruambyth"

Raj, 39, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, told WalesOnline that Bale was "genuinely interested" in meeting him.

"My mum came in to me and my sister and said 'Gareth Bale is in the shop!'," he explained.

"We were like - 'you're having a laugh'. Why would he be in Pontyclun of all places? My sister said 'it is actually him! It's either a very good lookalike, or it's actually him'."

"My brother went and had a picture with him. He went back in and said 'do you mind popping into ours?' (the family property above Big Sam's, where Raj lives). He said 'yes, of course, no problem'. He was actually genuinely interested.

"He seemed really nice. It wasn't very long, it was a few minutes, if that, maybe a couple of minutes but he seemed friendly."

Raj explained his mother didn't even recognise the football superstar immediately, and served him as a regular customer.

The family said they would live him to visit the takeaway again, and have promised there would be less drama. Raj said: "It’s not like we’re gonna jump him every time he comes in! If he ever comes again, we feel really bad, we all acted a bit dramatic because we were so excited!"

Big Sam's serves a variety of food, from fish and chips to kebabs, and has been open for 30 years.