At the age of 33, and about a month after the end of the World Cup, last night (Monday) Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football.
This retirement can be called surprising due to his relatively young age, but also not surprising due to his loose connection to the game in recent years.
Despite everything, Bale retires as the Wales national team's record of appearances (111) and its record of goals (41) and as one of the most decorated British players of all time.
With Real Madrid, he won the Champions League five times and the Spanish Championship three times, while in his last season, in the Los Angeles uniform, he won the MLS Championship.
"I am lucky to have been able to fulfill my dream of playing the sport I love," Bale wrote;
"Football really gave me some of the greatest moments of my life."
Bale divided his retirement announcement, which he published on social media, into two different messages.
In one he announces his retirement from the national team and from international football.
He calls this decision "undoubtedly the most difficult of my life" and in the title he wrote;
"To all my Welsh family".
Bale.
Celebrating in the national team's uniform, photo: Reuters
It is evident from this announcement that the 33-year-old star was connected to the national team from every team he played for.
Bale of the team is a Bale without doubts, the one that led them to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and Euro 2020, and the one that sent them to the World Cup in Qatar, their first in 50 years.
"I am proud to be part of the history of this amazing country" he wrote;
"After all, a dragon on the shirt is all I need."
In the second message, Bale announced his complete retirement from the game.
In this message, he mentions all the teams he has played for, from Southampton and Tottenham to Real Madrid and his last team, Los Angeles, and mentions the coaches, players and staff members he worked with.
Later, Bale thanked his family, his wife and children and concluded;
"I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my life."
Unlike the team, Bale of the teams left a taste for more.
Of unfulfilled potential, of a great player who could have been even greater.
Along with wonderful seasons and unforgettable goals like the one he scored in the 2018 Champions League final, Bale has experienced decreases in ability and especially a decrease in the level of interest.
The possibility that he would retire after the World Cup was on the table, and despite this, there is an element of surprise in the retirement of one of the greatest players of the last generation.
Bale.
Won titles with Real Madrid, photo: AP
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