Welsh forward Gareth Bale announced his retirement from Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and professional soccer Monday.
Bale has played professional soccer for 18 years, and at 33, has decided to retire just after joining the LAFC in June 2022, according to Major League Soccer. He brought the club to its 2022 MLS Cup victory after leaving the iconic Spanish club Real Madrid.
The legend shared the announcement of his “immediate” retirement on social media, alongside a photograph of himself in his traditional red Welsh soccer gear.
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) January 9, 2023
“We want to thank Gareth for everything he brought to our club,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington wrote in a release to MLS. “He arrived here with a goal to win championships in LA, and, like he has done everywhere else in his career – he succeeded. It was an honor to have one of the most talented, dynamic and exciting players of his generation finish his career with a title for LAFC, and we wish Gareth, his wife Emma, and their family nothing but the best in their future endeavors.” (RELATED: Man Claims He Didn’t Realize He Was Stabbed By British Football Hooligans)
Bale, originally from Wales’ capital city of Cardiff, led the nation to our first World Cup in 64 years, WalesOnline noted. CYMRU AM BYTH, BALE! EVEN THOUGH YOU WEREN’T THE JACK ARMY, WE LOVE YA, BACH!