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Gareth Bale's most memorable moments for Wales, Tottenham and Real Madrid

Wales legend Gareth Bale has called time on his trophy-laden career at just 33. Planet Sport looks back at his highs and lows, it's not been short of memorable moments.

Gareth Bale enjoyed a remarkable near twenty year professional career, which included successful spells Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and LA FC at domestic level, as well as proving pivotal to Wales in the international arena.

Bale has had his fair share of ups and downs in recent times but there is no doubt that Bale has given fans unforgettable moments. 

To celebrate Bale's retirement from the game, Planet Sport looks back at the Welshman's finest moments of a glittering career.

Debut for Southampton aged 16

After Theo Walcott, Bale became Southampton's second youngest ever player (16 years and 275 days) as he made his senior debut in April 2006. Just 40 days later, he made his full debut for Wales in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.

Bale enjoyed a full season playing in the Championship in 2006/07 before joining Tottenham Hotspur in May 2007 for a deal worth more than £10million with add-ons.

Although Spurs failed to register a win during his first 24 Premier League appearances.

Tormenting Maicon and Inter Milan in the Champions League

Under Harry Redknapp, Tottenham qualified for the 2010/11 Champions League in dramatic fashion and it proved to be the season Bale announced himself on the world scene.

Spurs provided an enjoyable campaign, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition before being knocked out by Real Madrid. Bale is remembered for his electric performance in the defeat to Inter Milan at the San Siro. 

Despite a 4-3 loss, Bale put in one of his career-best performances on the left wing and bagged a hat-trick. 'Taxi for Maicon' is something which lives in the memory of Spurs fans.

Winning Player of the Year awards in 2012/13

Bale had already won the PFA Players' Player of the Year once before in 2010/11, but his game stepped up to a whole new stratosphere in 2012/13.
In a superb season, the forward bagged 26 goals and 15 assists for Tottenham in all competitions.
His fine form was rewarded by scooping PFA Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. Soon after, he was named that season's FWA Footballer of the Year.

In doing so, he became only the second player, after Cristiano Ronaldo, to win all three of these awards in one season.

World's most expensive player at £85m

After his performances in 2012/13, it was only a matter of time before he made the move to one of Europe's elite clubs.

In September 2013, it was announced that Spanish giants Real Madrid had signed Bale for a then record-breaking £85.3million.

The forward signed a six-year deal for Los Blancos. This deal became a world record transfer, which beat the fee Madrid paid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ($107m) in 2009.

Copa del Rey Final solo goal vs Barcelona

Bale enjoyed a highly successful first season in Madrid. The Welshman netted 22 goals and 19 assists in all competitions during his debut year in all competitions.

Los Blancos finished third in La Liga but had success domestically and in Europe. Bale scored in extra-time in the Champions League Final as Madrid beat bitter rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1.

Despite delivering Madrid their first European trophy in over a decade, his performance in the final was possibly overshadowed by a spectacular solo effort against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
With the game hanging in the balance at 1-1 going into the final stages at the Mestalla, Bale sprinted with the ball from the half-way line and completed his stunning effort by placing the ball past José Manuel Pinto to win the trophy.

Euro 2016 with Wales

Wales finished second in their Euro 2016 qualifying group behind Belgium to earn themselves a place at the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.

Bale had a major impact in the group phase of the knockout tournament, scoring in all three games including a free-kick in their 2-1 defeat to England.
Wales beat Slovakia and Russia to earn a place in the knockout rounds. Their remarkable Euro 2016 story continued with victories over Northern Ireland and Belgium to set-up a semi-final tie against Portugal, in which Wales were eliminated after a 1-0 defeat.

More silverware at Real Madrid

In November 2016, Bale was ruled out for around four months after damaging ankle tendons in a Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.
However, he returned from injury to help Real become La Liga champions for the first time in five years.

Despite capping the 2016/17 season with a third Champions League title in his hometown of Cardiff, the success was bittersweet on a personal level as he was only a late substitute in the final against Juventus.

Sensational Champions League final overhead kick

Bale's finest moment of his career came in the 2017/18 Champions League Final against Liverpool.
The Welshman was a sub in the game but got brought on with 30 minutes of the game remaining at 1-1.
The attacker immediately made an impact as he produced an outrageous overhead kick that flew into the goal past Loris Karius.
Bale scored again to win his third Champions League title at Madrid but his first goal is considered as one of the greatest goals in Champions League

Wales. Golf. Madrid

Bale has made it no secret that is a big fan of golf. He plays a lot in his downtime, and people have suggested that he plays it too often, just ask the Madrid fans.

With Bale out of favour in the Spanish capital under Zinedine Zidane during his second reign as coach, the forward prioritised his efforts on ensuring Wales qualified for Euro 2020, which was delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ryan Giggs' side would defeat Hungary to guarantee qualification. The celebrations caused quite the reaction across Europe as Bale and his teammates danced around with a Wales flag which had the words 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order".

The Wales talisman

Bales surpassed Ian Rush as Wales' record goalscorer following a hat-trick against China in March 2018 and he continued to drive take his nation to the top of the world stage.
He captained Wales at Euro 2020 and made two assists as Wales reached the round of 16 with a 2-0 win against Turkey.
The forward proved inspirational for Wales as they qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.
He scored both goals in a 2-0 play-off semi-final win against Austria and his deflected free-kick in the play-off final against Ukraine secured his country a place at Qatar 2022.
Wales joined Group B of the World Cup, alongside England, Iran and the United States.
In Wales' opening game, Bale proved to be the saviour once again as their first match at a World Cup for 64 years ended in a 1-1 draw against the United States.
Bale equalised eight minutes from the end, converting his 41st Wales goal from the penalty spot after Tim Ream went right through the back of him.
It was Wales' first goal at a World Cup since Terry Medwin scored against Hungary in 1958.
That was the best it got for Wales and Bale at the tournament as they lost 2-0 to Iran and 3-0 to England in the following group games.
"We didn't live up to our expectations at this tournament," Bale said after the exit. "If you'd told us two years ago that we would play in a World Cup, we'd have all pinched ourselves.
"It's been difficult at this tournament, we haven't played very well. But we've given everything and we won't have any regrets."

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