Gareth Bale invited a Welsh family to meet him in LA – after they missed watching him play despite a 5,500mile trip.
Mum Rebecca Timms, 43, husband James, 42, and sons Ryan, 15, and Matty, 13, wanted to watch their football hero during their summer holiday to the States.
They bought tickets to watch Bale's new team Los Angeles FC and went to the stadium – only to find Gareth, 33, not in the matchday squad.
But after hearing of the family's disappointment, LA chiefs invited them to the team's training ground – and to meet Bale in person.
Gareth posed for a picture with Cardiff City fans Ryan and Matty and signed their hats, before apologising saying, "sorry I wasn't playing."
Rebecca, of Porthcawl, said: "We were totally gutted.
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"We only realised when the boys were hanging over the railing waiting for him to come out of the players entrance.
"The boys had a Welsh flag hoping to get Gareth’s attention when he came on the pitch."
Rebecca later said: "We planned our holiday and we always try to get an MLS match in and obviously once Gareth Bale was coming, we knew that this had to be the match for us.
"We were hoping and praying Bale would play.
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"Unfortunately he didn't. But we've been so fortunate to be invited here to the LAFC training ground to come and see training and see Bale."
Gareth told the family: "Sorry I wasn't playing the other day, I hope you all enjoy your holiday, and nice to meet you."
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