Real Madrid’s five times Champions League winner Gareth Bale
has announced his retirement from football.
Leading goal scorer of Wales, Gareth Frank Bale on Monday, January
9, 2022, took to Instagram and announced his retirement.
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He wrote, “My decision to retire from international football has been
by far the hardest of my career.” He in a separate post wrote, “After careful and thoughtful
consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international
football.”
33-year-old Bale’s last
game was played against England in November where he was substituted at
half-time.
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Bale wrote, “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.”
He was thankful to
people who have been a part of his journey and stated, “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.”
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Bale’s retirement came as a shock to his fans
as a bit more than a month earlier, he affirmed to continue to play after his
team’s exit at the World Cup. Bale was his team Wales’ captain.
Bale made his debut at the age of 16 at
Southampton and then joined Real Madrid in the year 2013. Bale has made 111
international appearances and has scored 41 goals.
The footballer is looking forward to his
life’s upcoming adventure and wrote, “I move on with anticipation to the next
stage of my life. A time of change and transition, an opportunity for a new
adventure.”
