Welsh football legend Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from active football at the age of 33.
On the 9th (local time), Bale delivered the shocking news of his retirement through his SNS. “After careful and deep consideration, I have decided to retire immediately from the club and the national team,” he said.
He also said, ‘I consider myself very lucky to have realized my dream of being able to play the sport I love. It truly gave me some of the best moments of my life.” From my start at Southampton to my final leg at LAFC, and all the clubs in between, they have shaped my career and I express my gratitude with great pride.”
Born in Cardiff, Wales, he made his professional debut for Southampton in April 2006. At the time, he was 16 years and 275 days old. He became the second youngest player in Southampton history to make his professional debut.
After two seasons at Southampton in the Championship (second division) at the time, he moved to Tottenham in 2007. He met the right water after changing his position from wingback to winger. In the 2012–2013 season, he scored 26 goals in 44 appearances.
Bale then joined Real Madrid, the best team in the world. After leaving Tottenham ahead of the 2013-2014 season, he also broke his highest ransom price 토토사이트. At the time, the transfer fee was a whopping 85 million pounds (about 130 billion won).
With Real Madrid, he won five European Champions League titles and three La Liga titles. But the ending wasn’t glamorous. His frequent injuries held him back. ‘Unstoppable love of golf’ was also controversial. In the 2020-2021 season, he briefly returned to Tottenham on loan and was with Son Heung-min, but his accompaniment with Real Madrid ended last season.
He finished his career at LAFC of the American Major League Soccer (MLS). Bale scored 185 goals in 553 professional matches.
His retirement from the Welsh national team was a bigger pain. “The decision to retire from the national team was the hardest decision of my career,” said Bale, “to captain my country 111 times was truly a dream come true.”
He changed the history of Welsh football. He scored 41 goals in 111 A-match appearances, the most for a Welsh national team player. He also presented his first ever semifinal miracle at Euro 2016.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was also special, although he did not pass the group stage gates. Bale led Wales to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 64 years since the 1958 Swedish tournament.
Bale finally said, ‘I move on in anticipation of the next phase of my life. A time of change and transition, a chance for a new adventure… ‘, he ended it.