Gareth Bale retires from football – his career in pictures

9 Jan 2023

The Guardian

Gareth Bale retires from football his career in pictures

The five-times Champions League winner has called time on his career weeks after captaining Wales at their first World Cup since 1958

Gareth Bale was born in Cardiff in 1989. He was spotted at a young age by Southampton and joined their academy, making his debut as a 16-year-old here against Millwall on 17 April 2006.

Photograph: David Field/Reuters/Alamy
Bale made his debut for Wales in May 2006 in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.

Photograph: Jan Pitman/Bongarts/Getty Images
Bale celebrates after scoring against Norwich in December 2006. He made 45 appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals.

Photograph: PA
Bale scores a free-kick against Slovakia in a Euro 2008 qualifier, his first goal for his country.

Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
His performances from left-back caught the eye, leading to a move to Tottenham in the summer of 2007. Here he lines up for his debut against Manchester United.

Photograph: Back Page Images/Shutterstock
Bale scored his first goal for Spurs in a London derby against Fulham on 1 September 2007.

Photograph: Back Page Images/Shutterstock
… and a couple of weeks later scored a free-kick to give Spurs the lead against Arsenal at White Hart Lane, although his team went on to lose 3-1.

Photograph: Back Page Images/Shutterstock
Bale recorded his first senior hat-trick against Milan at San Siro in the Champions League in October 2010.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Bale shows off a boot with a stitched tribute to the late Wales coach Gary Speed after scoring against Bolton in 2011.

Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock
Posing for a portrait for the Guardian during a schools visit in Enfield.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Bale scores against West Ham at White Hart Lane in November 2012. His barnstorming performances made clear he was one of the finest talents of his generation.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Bale with his PFA Player of the Year Award and his PFA Young Player of the Year Award in 2013. He also won the Football Writers’ award, one of only two players ever to do so.

Photograph: PA Images/Alamy
In September 2013, Bale’s excellence won him a move to Real Madrid for a then world-record fee. Here he is presented to the club’s fans.

Photograph: Helios de la Rubia/Real Madrid/Getty Images
Bale celebrates after scoring on his Madrid debut against Villarreal.

Photograph: José Jordan/AFP/Getty Images
Leaping for joy after scoring during the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona at Mestalla in Valencia in April 2014.

Photograph: Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images
Bale was now the talisman of the Wales team. Here he celebrates one of his two goals against Scotland in Cardiff in 2014.

Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Bale heads a 110th-minute goal in the 2014 Champions League final against Atlético Madrid, giving Madrid the lead in a game they went on to win 4-1.

Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Bale celebrates with his daughter at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium the day after winning the 2014 Champions League final. Bale had become the first Welshman to score in a European Cup final.

Photograph: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
Bale helped Wales to qualify for Euro 2016, their first major finals since 1958. Here he scores the third goal in the 3-0 defeat of Russia in the tournament’s group stage.

Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Bale joins teammates in celebrating victory over Belgium in the quarter-finals in Lille. They were knocked out in the semi-finals by the eventual champions, Portugal.

Photograph: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Bale’s home city of Cardiff hosted the 2017 Champions League final, in which Real Madrid defeated Juventus. Bale invited some friends on to the pitch to celebrate.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Another year, another Champions League final, in 2018. Bale scored a spectacular overhead kick in a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kyiv.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Bale poses with a fan at a golf tournament in Madrid in 2019. Celebrating a Wales win that year with a flag that read ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that Order’ went down badly at the Spanish club.

Photograph: Víctor Lerena/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Bale made a loan move back to Tottenham in September 2020. He scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United.

Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Bale wound down his club career in the US with Los Angeles FC, where he won yet another trophy – the MLS Cup in November 2022.

Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
In June 2022 Bale achieved his career ambition of leading Wales to a World Cup finals.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Gareth Bale celebrates scoring against the United States in the World Cup at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on 21 November 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Gareth Bale enjoys that moment with teammates in Qatar. ‘I have realised my dream’.

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian