Gareth Bale, the Wales captain and Los Angeles FC winger, announced that he has decided to retire at the age of 33 on Monday.
Bale won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid and featured in 111 games for his native Wales. Prior to 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.
“After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” Bale said on Twitter.
“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.
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
Bale started his senior career at then Championship side Southampton, which introduced the 17-year-old to professional football before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur two years later.
After six seasons in the Premier League, Bale was signed by Real Madrid for a fee reported by British media as a world record of 100m euros ($107.45m).
“From my very first touch at Southampton to my last with LAFC and everything in between, shaped a club career that I have an immense pride and gratitude for,” Bale added.
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“Playing for and captaining my country 111 times has truly been a dream come true.”
The player released a separate statement to bid farewell to the Welsh fans and team, saying his decision to retire from international football had been “by far the hardest of my career.”
“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.
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
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