From Southampton to Los Angeles FC, Gareth Bale's career lasted over 16 years, yet, the greatest-ever Welsh player has retired from football with only 505 appearances (club and country combined) and 182 goals beside his name.
Yet, football fans worldwide are up on their feet to applaud one of the best footballers of his generation, whose statistics cannot describe much about how much impact he has created throughout his injury-prone career.
Gareth Bale started his footballing journey at 9 with Southampton youth academy. Full of energy and speed, Bale progressed through the ranks quickly and made a professional debut with Southampton in 2006.
That year, he scored his first against Milwall and never looked back. Southampton was the moulding period for Bale to prepare his scoring prowess to become the most expensive player ever in the coming days.
After three seasons with Southampton, Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 and became the team's key player. He played 142 games for the Premier League team, scoring 42 goals.
However, more than his goals, his speedy runs through the right flanks would jeopardise the opponent's defence in an instant, and his crosses in the d-box constantly kept the opponent's defenders on their toes. Yet, for ultimate success and the taste of titles, he needed a bigger club, which he rightfully got after some individual accolades.
In the 2010-11 season, Gareth Bale was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, and the Player of the Year in the following season, along with making it to the UEFA Team of the Year.
With these recognitions, it was confirmed that Bale would be sought by the biggest clubs in the following transfer window, and he indeed was. Among many big names, Real Madrid - the most successful European club, were leading the race to take Bale as the player perfectly suited to Real Madrid's playing style and requirements for a speedy winger.
In 2013, Bale moved to Real Madrid for a then-world-record transfer fee of €100.8 million. And that was the beginning of an era -- an era of Real Madrid's dominance in European football, an era of one of the most fearsome attacking trios ever, Bale - Benzema - Cristiano (BBC).
BBC trio was a perfect reply from Real Madrid to their arch-rival Barcelona's formidable trio of Messi - Suarez - Neymar (MSN). Real Madrid were cornered by their domestic rival Barcelona for quite some time. While Cristiano Ronaldo was bringing the club's old glory back, Bale's inclusion in the team certainly boosted it and helped Ronaldo flourish even more.
Real Madrid would soon dominate everything, and Bale would be an important part of the attacking trident that was first firmly established properly in the 2014 Copa Del Rey final.
The goal he scored, outpacing Spanish defender Mark Bartra running more than the full width of the pitch and fooling Pinto finally to put the ball inside the net and win Real Madrid the game.
That Gareth Bale goal is considered one of the greatest ever goals scored in any competition finals. And he surpassed that landmark too, scoring an even more beautiful goal in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool – an acrobatic bicycle goal of superlative qualities that ensured Madrid's 13th UCL triumph.
The Welsh speedster has won all the club competitions there are to win with Real Madrid - 3 La Liga trophies, 4 UCL trophies, one Copa Del Rey and Super Copa, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 2 Club World Cups.
He featured on UEFA Team of the Year twice, made it to PFA team of the year 4 times and won the Welsh player of the year for a record 6 times.
An on-form Bale used to be a first choice for any team in the world; he could score from anywhere and make his peers score by attracting defenders toward him. His performance was never a matter of criticism until 2018, when his performance began to dip.
Also, he was deemed a costly player for Real Madrid since 2016 with plenty of injury cases. As Zidane wanted him out of the team, his relationship with the coach and board spoiled in 2019, culminating in his departure from Real Madrid in 2022.
Before that, he rejoined Tottenham on loan and put in some great performances for the club, helping the struggling team finish sixth in the Premier League.
Afterwards, he moved to MLS and played 12 games for Los Angeles FC before the World Cup, where he scored once for his country. His last professional career goal was his goal against the United States in the group round of the World Cup.
Even with all the criticism for injuries and off-field antics, Gareth Bale has been a true superstar of the game for more than a decade.
Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Tottenham again and finally, a short stint at MLS, the greatest-ever Welsh player has earned everything in his club career. Although a national title would be befitting, however, the country he represented was never a title contender.
After Bale, young Welsh players will surely dream of leading their flag, not as Messi or Ronaldo, but as Bale - an inspiration for generations to come.
