After a glorious career that included five wins in the Champions League, amazing and decisive goals and spectacular and exciting performances, Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football at the age of 33. Now, the question arises as to what will be the next career of the Welshman who decided to hang up his boots at a young age, when if we tell the truth – the question The real question is whether he will actually start a professional golf career.
As you may remember, the former Tottenham and Real Madrid star has often expressed his love and passion for golf, and created a stir at the time when he celebrated after a Wales victory with a sign that read “Wales, golf, Madrid – in that order”.
Now, according to reports in the UK, the former Wales captain is keen on the idea of trying his luck as a full-time golfer after his retirement. Europe’s leading celebrity golf circuit, the ‘Legends Tour’, will welcome Bale with open arms – allowing him to compete against other sporting legends such as Gianfranco Zola, Robbie Fowler, Andrew Strauss and Damon Hill.
Bale will also be offered the chance to play alongside big-name golfers to see if he has what it takes to turn pro. The Celebrity Series consists of four events, with the top ten players qualifying for the final to be played in Mauritius or the Seychelles and competing for a prize of £100,000, which will be donated to a charity of their choice. Former footballers competing in the Tour include Roberto Di Matteo, Gordon Strachan, Teddy Sheringham and Lee Sharp – so Bale will be in good company if he signs up.
Keith Mitchell, VP of Marketing for the Legends Tour, enthused: “Everyone is aware of Gareth’s incredible passion for golf, and if he wants to be involved in the Celebrity Series we will welcome him with open arms. He’s hosted the Wales Open for the past two years so he’s well known to us, and there’s obviously been a fair amount of speculation that he’s keen to see how far he can go in the game. We have a list of about 50 to 60 celebrities that we are sending invitations to, and we will certainly make inquiries to see if Gareth is interested in taking part this year.”
However, if you ask Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett, the star will keep golf as a hobby. “I don’t think so, but who knows, he can surprise everyone and just do it!”, he said Barnett When asked in an interview about the possibility of Bale starting a professional golf career. His agent also added about his future: “He will do things that he will be happy to do and that is the biggest thing. He will wake up and decide what he wants to do and when he wants to do it.”
Another one who is interested in Bale for another career after retirement is his coach in Wales, Rob Page, who wants to keep him in a professional role in the national team and said: “I want to keep him involved, I want to have a discussion with him about Qatar and what happened there and get some feedback from a player’s point of view. Discussions will be held in the future.”
When asked if Bale deserves a statue in Cardiff’s stadium where Wales play, Page replied: “Of course, I would fully support it. Not just because of what he did for the national team, but for Wales as a country. He put us on the world map. Gotta do something for him, he was such a legend and an icon. It’s phenomenal what he did for us as a nation, what a career this man had.”