Gareth Bale announced his retirement at the age of 33 on Monday, bringing an end to a glittering career that saw him become Wales’ most-capped male player and record men’s goalscorer.
He walks away from the sport as one of Britain’s most decorated players, having won five Champions League and three LaLiga titles with Real Madrid after playing six seasons in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur.
Let’s look at Wales and Los Angeles FC player Gareth Bale’s career;
Born: July 16, 1989 in Cardiff, Wales
EARLY CAREER
* Bale makes his professional debut for Southampton aged 16 years and 275 days against Millwall in the second tier in 2006.
* Makes 45 appearances for Saints and scores five goals
* In 2007, joins Tottenham Hotspur for an initial fee of five million pounds ($6.10 million).
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2007-13)
* Used predominantly as a left back in his early career at Spurs but was considered defensively suspect.
* Did not win any of his first 24 league matches with the club and only broke his duck as an 85th minute substitute with Spurs leading 5-0 against Burnley in September 2009.
* Manager Harry Redknapp deploys him in an advanced position to take advantage of his electrifying pace and forward runs.
* Scores a memorable hat-trick in a 4-3 Champions League loss against Inter Milan at the San Siro.
* Wins PFA Player of the Year award and named in UEFA Team of the Year – the first Welsh player and first Spurs player to be named in the lineup.
* Manager Andre Villas-Boas converts Bale into a forward and he scores a career-high 26 goals in a season in 2012-13.
* Named Player of the Year for a second time and also scoops up Young Player of the Year award.
* Real Madrid sign Bale for a then-world record fee of 100 million euros.
REAL MADRID (2013-2020)
* Scores on Real debut against Villarreal in a 2-2 draw and grabs first hat-trick in 4–0 win over Real Valladolid, becoming only the second British player to do so in LaLiga after Gary Lineker.
* Scores late winner in Copa del Rey final against Barcelona with a stunning solo run from his own half.
* Scores in the 2014 Champions League final in extra time to help Real win a much-awaited 10th Champions League crown and ends the season with 22 goals in all competitions.
* Gets an assist in the 2016 Champions League final and also scores in the ensuing penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid.
* Extends contract until 2022 but ankle injury results in a four-month spell out in 2016-17. Plays 19 times in LaLiga title-winning campaign and wins third Champions League crown.
* Has his best scoring return in 2017-18 since his debut season, with 21 goals including an overhead kick and a long-range effort in the Champions League final against Liverpool as Real win their 13th crown and Bale’s fourth.
* Scores his 100th goal for Real in the 2018-19 season but fans grow frustrated as Bale is unable to step into Cristiano Ronaldo’s shoes after the Portugal forward joins Juventus.
* Has his worst season in a Real shirt, scoring only three goals in 2019-20, missing the final stretch of games in the title run-in as Real pip Barcelona to the trophy.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2020-21)
* Returns to his former club Spurs on Sept. 2020 on a season-long loan.
* Scores his 200th career goal in a 3-3 draw against LASK in the Europa League.
* Finishes the season with 34 appearances in all competitions, scoring 16 goals with three assists.
REAL MADRID (2021-22)
* Appears in only seven games for Real during the 2021-22 season, scoring one goal in LaLiga.
* In June confirms he is leaving the club.
LOS ANGELES FC (2022)
* Signs for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC as a free agent on a 12-month contract.
* Appears in 12 regular season games for LA, scoring twice.
* Makes his first MLS playoff appearance in the championship match against Philadelphia Union, scoring in the 128th minute, the latest in league history, to tie the game 3-3 and force a penalty shootout, which LA win to lift their first MLS Cup.
WALES (2006-2022)
* Becomes Wales’ then-youngest debutant in May 2006.
* In October becomes the youngest player to score for Wales with a free kick against Slovakia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
* Scores seven times in Euro 2016 qualifiers to help Wales reach their first major finals since the 1958 World Cup. They go out in the semi-finals to eventual champions Portugal.
* In March 2018 scores his first international hat-trick against China and becomes Wales’ all-time top scorer.
* Helps Wales reach last 16 at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament where they are beaten 4-0 by Denmark.
* In June his free kick in the playoff final against Ukraine qualifies Wales to the World Cup for the first time in 64 years.
* The same month he is made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to football and charity.
* In the 2022 World Cup Bale scores the first goal for Wales in the tournament since 1958 with a penalty against the United States in a 1-1 draw in their opening game.
* In Wales’ second group game against Iran he becomes his country’s most capped player of all time with 111 appearances.
* Wales fail to reach the knockout stage in Qatar.
* With 41 goals he is Wales’ all-time leading scorer ahead of Ian Rush (28).
