Wales midfielder Gareth Bale reacts at the final whistle during the FIFA World Cup 2022 First Round Group E Qualifiers football match between Wales and Estonia at Cardiff City Stadium on September 8, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales. Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale said on Monday he had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33 after reaching extraordinary milestones in both club and international football. , photo credit: AFP
Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale said on Monday that he had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33 after reaching extraordinary milestones in both club and international football.
Bale played a Wales record 111 games for his country and was a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid. He helped the Welsh reach the 2016 and 2020 Euros before leading them to their first World Cup since 1958 in Qatar 2022.
“After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” Bell said on Twitter.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have realized my dream of playing the sport I love. It has truly given me some of the best moments of my life.
“The absolute highest in 17 seasons, which will be impossible to replicate, no matter what the next chapter holds for me.”
Bell began his senior career at then Championship side Southampton, who introduced the 17-year-old to professional football, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur two years later.
After six seasons and nearly 150 appearances in the Premier League, Bale was signed by Real Madrid for a fee reported by British media as a world record 100 million euros ($107.45 million).
In 2013–14, his first season in Spain, he helped Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League trophy, which the club had been waiting for for more than 10 years. Bale made 12 appearances and scored six goals in the victorious campaign, including one in the 4–1 final win over Atlético Madrid.
“From my first touch at Southampton to my last with LAFC and everything in between, it has shaped a club career of which I am extremely proud and grateful,” Bell said.
To play and captain your country 111 times is indeed a dream come true.
The player issued a separate statement to bid farewell to the Welsh fans and the team, saying that his decision to retire from international football was “the most difficult decision I have ever made in my career.”
“The privilege of being Welsh and being selected to play and captain Wales has given me something incomparable to anything else I have ever experienced.
“I am honored and humbled to have played a part in the history of this incredible country, to have felt the support and passion of the Red Wall, and that together (we) have gone to unexpected and surprising places.
“I shared a dressing room with boys who became brothers, and backroom staff who became family.”
first european championship
In May 2006, Bell became the youngest player for Wales when he made his debut as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago at the age of 16 years and 315 days. Having scored 41 goals, he remains their all-time top scorer.
He captained Wales in their first European Championship in 2016, making the semi-finals and helping them qualify again for Euro 2020, before reaching the 2022 World Cup for the first time since 1958.
The 33-year-old, who became Wales’ most-capped player in their second group game against Iran in Qatar, vowed to keep playing for the national team amid doubts over his future after they lost 3-0. England.
Wales coach Rob Page said after his dismissal, “I don’t think this will be the last time you see him in a Wales jersey.”