Gareth Bale announces his retirement and ends a controversial career

While

, at 37, decides to continue with the Croatian team and

, at the same age, seeks one more opportunity in Arabia,

says enough because, in reality, football never meant as much to the Welshman as it did to the stars around him.

He does it at the age of 33, after a year in American soccer and a World Cup from which he left prematurely.

From now on, he can definitely reverse his "Wales, golf, Madrid" motto.

Golf will come first.

For those who shared a stage with Bale in Madrid, it was always that way, to the point of being nicknamed the "golfer" in the dressing room.

There were eight seasons, in two stages, which served him to show a curriculum of a great star, with five Champions, as many as

or Cristiano himself.

Despite his irregularity, he played a leading role in some of them, such as in La Décima, in Lisbon, against Atlético, or with his 'Chilean' goal against Liverpool, in kyiv.

To these titles, he adds three European Super Cups and four Club World Cups, all achieved with the whites.

Bale was the second major signing after the return to the club of

, by paying 100 million euros for the transfer of the Welshman to Tottenham, where his speed had caused an outbreak in the Premier.

It was in the 2013/14 season, crowned with the conquest of the tenth European Cup.

The injuries, however, prevented his regularity, together with the loss of motivation.

As a club player, since his debut at Southampton, he has played 553 games, with 185 goals, at an average of 0.33 per game, low for his conditions.

Of them, in Real Madrid he played 238 (106 goals).

With Wales, his intention was to reach the centenary, but he stayed two games away, in Qatar.

He played 98 games with 38 international goals.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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