Gareth Bale, a winger for Los Angeles FC and Wales, said on Monday that he has decided to retire at the age of 33 after reaching outstanding milestones in both club and international football.
Bale won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid and participated in 111 games for his native Wales. Before guiding the Welsh in their first World Cup since 1958 in Qatar in 2022, he assisted them in qualifying for the 2016 and 2020 Euros. Bale announced on Twitter that he was leaving the club and international football immediately after giving it some thought.
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
He considers himself tremendously lucky to have achieved his dream of participating in the sport he enjoys. He can honestly say that it has given him some of his best times. No matter what the next chapter has for him, the highest of highs over 17 seasons will be impossible to recreate. Bale began his senior career at Southampton, who were playing in the Championship at the time. Southampton introduced the 16-year-old to the professional game before he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur a year later. After six seasons and nearly 150 Premier League matches, Bale was acquired by Real Madrid for what British media believed to be a record-breaking fee of 100 million euros ($107.45 million).
Real Madrid’s 10th Champions League championship, which the team had been waiting for more than ten years, was achieved by Real Madrid in 2013–14, his first season in Spain. In the successful campaign, Bale made 12 appearances and scored six goals, notably in the 4-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the championship game. Everything from his very first touch at Southampton to his very last with LAFC and everything in between fashioned a club career for which he has the highest gratitude and pride, Bale concluded. Playing 111 times for his country and serving as captain has been a dream come true. To say goodbye to the Welsh supporters and teammates, the player issued a second statement in which he described his decision to leave international football as “by far the hardest of my career.”
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
He has had experiences that are unlike anything else, he had thanks to his good fortune in being Welsh and being chosen to play for and lead Wales. He shared a dressing room with boys who became brothers and backroom staff who became family, and he is honored and humbled to have been able to contribute to the history of this amazing country. He could feel the red wall’s passion and support, and together, they traveled to so many fantastic and unexpected places.
