Gareth Bale eyeing new job after revealing secret injury ended career

Gareth Bale has lifted the lid on a secret injury that plagued his football career – eventually leading to his early retirement.

The Welshman enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Real Madrid, winning five Champions League titles.

PA:Press Association

The forward spent nine seasons in the Spanish capital playing alongside star names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos.

Bale called time on his career at the age of 33, after captaining Wales at the 2022 World Cup.

And he has now revealed details of a back injury sustained during his teenage years at Tottenham that impacted his decision to retire.

Injury woes

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Bale said: “I tore my disc in my back when I was 18 at Tottenham. I played my whole career with that.

“I had a lot of calf injuries which was due to my back. I never came out and said this when I was playing because some people would say ‘he’s making excuses’.

“It was manageable but over time it caught up with me.”

Bale revealed that Real Madrid were aware of the issue at the time of his then-world record £85.3 million transfer in 2013.

However, the problem persisted throughout his time in La Liga and whilst deemed manageable, Bale admits having to brush his teeth while standing on his heels due to the risk of injury to his calf.

“I never knew when it would come,” he said. “And obviously people were like, ‘oh, he doesn’t look after himself’ [but] I would literally make sure my calves and soleus were bulletproof.

“But again, if it misfires and it goes, there’s nothing I could do about it. I’d have an injection in my back to calm it all down.”

STick to football

Bale is widely recognised as Wales’ greatest ever player.

He is his country’s most capped player having clocked up 111 games and stands as Wales’ all-time leading scorer with 41 goals.

Bale brought the curtain down on a glittering club career in MLS with LAFC and the star revealed that his retirement decision came at the perfect time.

“I always got to a point where I guess a lot of people do in their career, do you keep going for what reason? What else do I want to achieve?,” Bale said.

“I felt like I achieved everything I wanted to. The last thing I did was qualify for a World Cup, which was the one thing that was last on my list.

“I felt it was the right time. It was a few years prior that I was probably ready but it just caught up with me.”

Future ambitions

Bale has since shown an interest in club ownership and was part of a consortium that showed an interest in buying Cardiff City last summer.

While the attempts the purchase his hometown club did not materialise, Bale admits club ownership is still in his sights.

“I always said when I retired, I wanted one, two, three years just to decompress, enjoy the kids and then try and find a few paths I want to do,” he added.

“Something like that interests me more than… going into management. I feel like I’ve done that as a player and you’ve got to put even more hours in as a coach and a manager.”