By Alex Al-Kazzaz
At the age of 33, Gareth Bale is hanging up his cleats. The Welsh midfielder/forward had truly a brilliant and unique illustrious career. Bale recently represented his native Wales at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was Wales' first World Cup appearance since 1958. Wales failed to make it out the group stage, but Bale did manage to score one goal for his country in the sport's most competitive tournament.
Shortly before the World Cup, Bale briefly played for Los Angeles FC. He appeared in 13 games, scoring three goals and helping the club win its first MLS Cup. In a career that spanned over 15 years, Bale's list of accomplishments is beyond endless. No doubt, the six-time Welsh Footballer of the Year will go down as the greatest Welsh player in history. His style of play, talent, and skills all speak for themselves and to truly understand the type of player Bale was, you'd have to see it to believe it.
Bale started his career in 2006 with English Premier League club Southampton. He would soon be picked up by Tottenham Hotspur where he played from 2007 to 2013 and again briefly during the 2020-21 season. During his time with Tottenham, he was a two-time EFL Cup runner-up and he won the Tottenham Hotspur Young Player of the Year award twice and was named the club's player of the year in 2013.
On September 1st, 2013, Real Madrid signed Bale for a then-world-record fee of 85.1 British pounds(100.8 million Euros). With Los Blancos, Bale won five UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, three UEFA Super Cups along with three FIFA Club World Cups. In addition, he also won a Spanish Super Cup and a Copa del Rey. The 2018 UEFA Champions League is perhaps Bale's most well-known perhaps with Real Madrid.
Bale left Madrid last summer to sign with LAFC. His decision to play in the United States was quite a surprise considering many believed he would play for a club in Wales.
Bale started representing Wales at the senior level in 2006. With 41 goals scored in international duty, he's currently Wales' all-time leading scorer. He also has the most caps for the national team with 111. Aside from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Bale represented Wales at the Euro 16 tournament where Wales made it to the final four. Bale captained Wales at Euro 2020 managing to lead Wales to the knockout stage where they lost to Denmark in the round of 16.
Now that he's retired as a player, it's unclear what the future has in store for him, but without a doubt, there are plenty of work opportunities out there for Bale. Most realistically speaking, coaching opportunities in his homeland as well as England ought to be presented to him in the near future. If he were to embark on a coaching career, he'd likely start with a second or third tier English or Welsh club. If he were to start with a first tier Welsh club, it wouldn't come as a surprise.