Gareth Bale announces retirement from football
Bale has announced his social media retirement.
KATHMANDU: Wales captain and forward Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33.
The former Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Real Madrid forward made his final competitive appearance on Nov 29 against England in Wales’ World Cup group stage match.
He ended his club career with Los Angeles FC, where he scored a dramatic equalizer in extra time to help his team win the MLS Cup in November.
Bale has announced his social media retirement.
“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have realized my dream of playing the sport I adore.
“It has truly provided me with some of the best moments of my life. No matter what the next chapter has in store for me, the highest of highs over 17 seasons will be impossible to replicate.”
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
Bale’s decision comes little more than a month after he vowed to continue playing after Wales’s disappointing group-stage exit at their first World Cup finals tournament for 64 years. Bale captained Wales on his first appearance at a World Cup finals.
Bale has the most caps for Wales. He has appeared in 111 Wales matches.
Bale started at Southampton, making his debut aged 16, and spent six years at Tottenham before joining Madrid in 2013 for a then world-record £85m fee.
He had indicated as recently as November that he would play on until at least the end of Wales’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Bale scored 41 goals in 111 international appearances.
He previously played for American MLS club Los Angeles FC.
Wales was led by Bale at the World Cup in Qatar.
