Former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid great Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from football with immediate effect.
Bale wrote in a copious statement across his social networks that “After careful and thoughtful consideration I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football. 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”, he added.
Having captained and played for Wales in 111 games, the 33-year-old said his decision to retire from International football has been by far the hardest of his illustrious career.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation, Bale began his professional career at Southampton before moving to Tottenham in 2007 for a fee of £7 million where he transform from a left-back to a more attacking and explosive player.
The Wales international joined LaLiga giants Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee which was confirmed to be a world record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million).
He was an integral part of the devastating trident dubbed BBC, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema that became a nightmare for many teams across Europe.
In his debut season, he scored the first goal in extra time to end Real Madrid’s agonizing wait for a 10th Champions League title.
Bale won every trophy available while at Real Madrid — he won 22 trophies including five Champions Leagues across all competitions in his entire career.