When Gareth Bale was named on the bench for the Champions League final on Saturday against Liverpool, he probably didn’t expect to be the hero that night.

But that’s exactly what happened in Kiev as the Welshman scored a spectacular overhead kick to put Real Madrid 2-1 ahead within three minutes of being introduced before his long-range strike slipped through Loris Karius’ hands to make it 3-1.

It was the perfect ending to what has been a very frustrating season for Bale.

In a post-match interview with BT Sport shortly after the final whistle, Bale admitted that his Real Madrid future is uncertain.

“Obviously I need to play," he told BT Sport.

“That hasn’t happened this season for one reason or another. I was injured for five or six games and I’ve been fit ever since.

“I’ll have to sit down in the summer, discuss it with my agent and take it from there.”

And when the Daily Mail produced a report on Wednesday evening claiming that Bale had spent 20 minutes in the Liverpool dressing room rather than celebrating with his own teammates after the game, his Real career looked all but over.

Why would you not celebrate with your teammates after probably the best moment of your entire career?

Well, it seems that Bale didn’t actually enter Liverpool’s dressing room at all.

The Liverpool Echo have responded to the Daily Mail’s report - and have basically called it a load of rubbish.

They say that Bale did talk to the likes of Adam Lallana and Ben Woodburn but it wasn’t in the dressing room.

Bale spoke with former Southampton teammate Lallana in the drug testing room with both players having been called for a mandatory doping test by UEFA after the game.

Then, on his way back to Real’s dressing room, he bumped into his international teammate Ben Woodburn, and had a brief catch-up with him.

That certainly makes more sense…