London, Jan 9 (EFE).- Gareth Bale, former Real Madrid soccer player, announced on Monday his retirement from professional soccer after 17 seasons in the elite.
The Welshman, whose last club was Los Angeles FC, leaves football at the age of 33, after a successful career in which he won five Champions Leagues, three Spanish leagues and led his team to the semifinals of Euro 2016 and their First World Cup since 1958.
“After careful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” Bale said in a statement posted on his social media.
«I feel incredibly lucky to have achieved the dream of dedicating myself to the sport that I love. It has given me some of the best moments of my life. Very good moments and bad moments in 17 seasons that are impossible to repeat, whatever the future brings me », he stressed.
Bale’s career took him from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur, who paid 15 million euros for him in 2007. At ‘Spurs’ he became one of the most important players in the world, acting on the left wing, both as a winger as a winger, which aroused the interest of Real Madrid, which in 2013 paid 100 million euros for him.
At the white club he reaped his greatest successes, with five Champions League titles, being decisive in two finals, as well as three leagues, three Club World Cups, three European Super Cups and one Copa del Rey.
His eight seasons at the white club were marred by the last three, in which he was unable to take over from Cristiano Ronaldo and his disinterest and fall into injuries stained the record of one of the most important players in Real’s recent history. Madrid.
“From my first cap with Southampton to my last cap with Los Angeles, and everything in between, it has been a career that fills me with pride and gratitude. Playing for my country 111 times is a dream come true,” he said.
In his farewell letter, Bale remembered his clubs, Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and LAFC, as well as his coaches, teammates, agents and family.
«Now I turn the page wanting to see the next chapter of my life. It is a time of change and transition, an opportunity for a new adventure,” said the Welshman. EFE
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