Gareth Bale, the former Real Madrid and Tottenham player who joined Los Angeles FC in the summer of 2022 has announced his retirement from football.
Bale retires at the age of 33, after leading Wales to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Welshman began his footballing career in Southampton spending a year, making 45 appearances and scoring five goals as a defender.
He moved to Tottenham in 2007, where he spent almost half of his footballing career, transforming into one of the club’s best-ever forward which then made Real Madrid come for his signature.
The former Wales captain then went on to spend the remainder of his footballing days in America’s Major League Soccer.
“After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” Bale wrote on his social media handle.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have realised my dream of playing the sport I love. It has truly given me some of the best moments of my life.”
“The highest of highs over 17 seasons, that will be impossible to replicate, no matter what the next chapter has in store for me.”
“My decision to retire from international football has been, by far the hardest of my career.”
“My journey on the international stage is one that has changed not only my life but who I am.”
“The fortune of being Welsh and being selected to play for and captain Wales, has given me something incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced.”
“I am honoured and humbled to have been able to play a part in the history of this incredible country, to have felt the support and passion of the red wall, and together have been to unexpected and amazing places.”
The 33-year-old was a motivating figure on the international stage, earning 111 caps and scoring 41 international goals, making him Wales’ most capped player and top goalscorer of all time.
