After hanging up his boots, Welsh star Gareth Bale is active on social media, enjoying his passion for golf and spending free time with his family.
On January 9, 2023, Bale announced on social media that he would end his career at the age of 33 after 17 years of playing at the top level. According to Spanish newspaper AS , at that time, the Welsh star earned nearly 250 million USD from club-level income alone and thus enjoyed his post-football life for the past year.
Away from football, Bale has been able to focus on his passion for golf. Over the past year, the former Real Madrid striker has competed in several tournaments, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - two amateur team tournaments. He finished 16th and 47th respectively. Bale also took part in the All-Star Match - a pre-Ryder Cup exhibition match featuring sports stars and celebrities - and teamed up with Novak Djokovic (tennis), Leonardo Fioravanti (windsurfing), Kipp Popert (G4D disabled golf), and Garrett Hilbert (performance golf).
Gareth Bale tees off on the first hole of the All-Star match ahead of the Ryder Cup on September 27, 2023 at Marco Simone Golf Course in Rome, Italy. Photo: Reuters
In addition to golf, Bale spends a lot of time with his family and regularly updates on social media. The 34-year-old also participated in a Netflix documentary about the captains of the teams participating in the 2022 World Cup. In addition, Bale has appeared in a number of commercials and is an ambassador for the 2023 Champions League final.
Bale still follows and regularly supports his former club Real. He once advised his junior Jude Bellingham to become a "puppet", always play well and answer the media to avoid criticism at Real, as well as support Vinicius against racism incidents in La Liga.
"Bale celebrates the first anniversary of his retirement and is very happy to be free from the pressure of playing, especially when he was at Real," AS commented. "Now the former Welshman enjoys the money he earns during his free time. Family, golf and football, in that order, and Bale is enjoying life."
Bale and his wife went skiing in Switzerland in February 2023. Photo: FBNV
Bale began his career at Southampton in the 2005-06 season, where he was considered a prodigy in the English First Division. The Welsh star played for Tottenham from 2007 to 2013, Real from 2013 to 2022, returned to Tottenham in the 2020-2021 season on loan, then moved to LAFC from July 2022.
Bale's most successful transfer was when he joined Real for a world record fee of $113 million in the summer of 2013. After nine years, the striker played 258 games, scored 106 goals, and won 16 titles with the club, including three La Liga and five Champions Leagues. The former Welshman created many memorable moments such as the overhead kick that scored against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, the header that helped Real lead Atletico 2-1 in the 2014 Champions League final, or the situation of speeding the ball past Marc Bartra to seal a 2-1 victory over Barca in the 2014 Copa del Rey final.
With the Wales national team, Bale's 111 caps and 41 goals are both records. His best achievement with the team was reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016. He and the team also reached the round of 16 of Euro 2021 and the group stage of the World Cup 2022. Bale's last goal was a penalty in Wales' 1-1 draw with the United States in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Bale dribbles past Marc Bartra before scoring the second goal for Real in the Spanish King's Cup final against Barca at Mestalla Valencia on April 16, 2014. Photo: Reuters
Bale is famous for his golf addiction, having been spotted playing golf during a Real Madrid match, despite sitting out the match due to injury. When Bale was playing for Tottenham, the team had to build a putting and chipping area for him to practice his close-range golf skills. In addition to his home, Bale also hired experts to make replicas of three world-famous par-3 holes, including the island-shaped 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Atlanta, USA, and the 8th hole, nicknamed the "postage stamp" because of its small and tricky green at Royal Troon, Scotland.
While celebrating Wales' qualification for the Euro 2020 finals, Bale was joined by his teammates by a flag with a banner that read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order." The incident angered Real fans at the time, who thought their team was only ranked third, behind golf. When attending the 2022 World Cup, Bale also evaded coach Rob Page's ban by playing golf on a golf simulator at the hotel.
Bale is an ambassador for Royal & Ancient, which co-creates the rules and develops golf internationally with the United States Golf Association. Bale recently invested in TMRW Sports, a company co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that is focused on high-tech products and services in the sports, media and entertainment industries and is a partner of the PGA Tour, which operates a supplementary group of tournaments called TGL.
Hong Duy
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