Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 33.
The former Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton star, who joined Los Angeles FC in the summer of 2022, explained his decision through a statement on social media.
“After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” he wrote.
“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.”
Bale’s decision comes just a month after he captained Wales at their first World Cup in 64 years.
“My decision to retire from international football has been, by far the hardest of my career,” he wrote.
“My journey on the international stage is one that has changed not only my life but who I am.”The fortune of being Welsh and being selected to play for and captain Wales, has given me something incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced.
“I am honoured and humbled to have been able to play a part in the history of this incredible country, to have felt the support and passion of the red wall, and together have been to unexpected and amazing places.”
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