Gareth Bale announced his retirement from club and international football at the age of 33 on Monday, bringing the curtain down on one of the most decorated careers in British football history.
The former Real Madrid star, who played his final match at the recent World Cup, won five Champions League trophies and made a record 111 appearances for Wales, becoming their greatest goalscorer.
Bale led his country from the international football wilderness to two European Championships -- reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016 -- and a first World Cup since 1958.
The forward, who also played for Southampton, Tottenham and Los Angeles FC, said after the World Cup in Qatar he would keep going for "as long as I'm wanted" but the Cardiff-born player has now decided to hang up his boots.
"After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football," Bale wrote on his social media accounts.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to have realised my dream of playing the sport I love.
"It has truly given me some of the best moments of my life, the highest of highs over 17 seasons. That will be impossible to replicate, no matter what the next chapter has in store for me."
Bale started his career at Southampton but made his name in the Premier League at Tottenham, where he was twice named players' player of the year.
After scoring 31 goals for club and country in the 2012/13 season, it was clear that Spurs would struggle to keep Bale and Real Madrid paid a then world record fee of around £85 ($104 million) to sign him in September 2013.
The high point of Bale's club career came in May 2018 when he scored twice in the 3-1 Champions League final victory over Liverpool, including a stunning overhead kick.
He also won three league titles in Spain but had a troubled final few years in Madrid as injuries and a perceived lack of commitment pushed him to the fringes of the first team.
The forward joined Los Angeles FC last year and went on to win the MLS Cup in early November in his short stint in the United States.
