The Welsh international striker Gareth Bale, 33, announced this Monday in a statement his retirement "with immediate effect" from football, after having participated with his team in the World Cup in Qatar, where the British team was eliminated in the first phase. .
"After careful and in-depth consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international soccer," wrote the former player for Real Madrid and Tottenham, among other teams, and currently with Los Angeles FC in the US league, in a message posted on their social networks.
"I feel incredibly lucky to have fulfilled my dream of playing the sport that I love and that has given me some of the best moments of my life," added Bale, who played 17 seasons as a professional, in which he won, among other titles, five Champions Leagues, all with Real Madrid, in which he played from 2013 to 2021.
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"From my first cap at Southampton to my last at LAFC, everything in between shaped a club career for which I feel immense pride and gratitude," added the Welsh star, who played a record 111 games for his team, reaching to the semifinals in the Eurocopa-2016 and returning in Qatar to a World Cup after 58 years of absence.
His career, however, was marred in recent years by his constant physical problems, which prevented him from playing regularly.
AFP
