Gareth Bale
Updated: Wikipedia source
Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and the greatest Welsh player of all time. Bale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for his contributions to association football and various charities. Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing as a left-back before moving to Tottenham in 2007. From the 2009–10 season, under coach Harry Redknapp, Bale transformed into a winger. He received several individual awards in England, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards and three PFA Team of the Year inclusions. He won both the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player awards in the 2012–13 season, becoming the second Premier League player to achieve this feat after Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006–07. In September 2013, Real Madrid signed Bale for a then world-record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). Being part of the trio dubbed BBC alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale helped Madrid to win the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in 2014, and he scored in both finals. Bale was among the top three nominees for the 2015–16 UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award. He had multiple Ballon D'Or nominations, with five top 20 finishes and finishing 6th place in 2016. He scored what is widely regarded as one of the greatest goals in a Champions League final, a bicycle kick during Real Madrid's win in the 2018 Champions League final. He was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2018. In 2020–21, he returned to Tottenham on loan before playing his final season in Madrid. In his nine-year tenure, Bale won 15 trophies, including three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues. He joined MLS club Los Angeles in July 2022 before retiring in January 2023 at age 33. Bale made his international debut for Wales in May 2006. He had 111 caps for the nation and scored 41 goals, making him Wales' most capped player and top goalscorer of all time. He was the top goalscorer for Wales in the qualifying rounds for UEFA Euro 2016, scoring seven times; he played every match for Wales in the actual tournament and led Wales to the semi-finals, scoring three goals. He also played in Euro 2020 and helped Wales qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, ending a 64-year appearance drought at the World Cup for Wales. He was named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times.