Gareth Bale announces retirement from professional football

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 33.

The Welshman spent last season with MLS side LAFC and was part of Wales' squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Photo by Kevin McCartney

Gareth Bale finishes his career with some fantastic achievements, winning five Champions League titles and LaLiga three times at Real Madrid, scoring 106 goals.

He also set plenty of records on the international stage, earning the highest number of caps for the Wales men's national team with 111, and scoring 41 goals, eclipsing the 28 previously set by Liverpool legend Ian Rush.

Bale became his nations youngest ever scorer in October 2006, scoring against Slovakia in a Euro 2008 qualifier with a free-kick.

In addition, he became the first Welshman to score at a major international tournament and a World Cup, as well as being the first to score two international hat-tricks - against China in March 2018 and Belarus in September 2021.

From a statement on his Twitter page Bale said: "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. The highest of highs over 17 seasons, that will be impossible to replicate, no matter what the next chapter has in store for me.

"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, playing for and captaining my country 111 times has truly been a dream come true.

"To show my gratitude to all of those that have played their part along this journey, feels like an impossibility. I feel indebted to many people for helping to change my life and shape my career in a way I couldn't have ever dreamed of when I first started out at nine years old.

"So, I move on with anticipation to the next stage of my life. A time of change and transition, an opportunity for a new adventure."