After his £600,000-a-week Real Madrid contract expires next summer, Gareth Bale is expected to retire from club football but will return for Wales’ 2022 World Cup campaign as a last-ditch effort. The Welshman has one year left on his contract at the Bernabeu, and he sent fans into a frenzy before Euro 2020 by warning that revealing his plans would create havoc.
Wales’ Euro 2020 campaign came to an end following a 4-0 thrashing by Denmark in the last-16. Bale will retire from club football next summer before leading his country to the World Cup in Qatar next winter if they qualify.
Bale was questioned in the immediate aftermath of Wales’ Euro loss whether it would be his final appearance for his country amid reports that he would be retiring. Bale abruptly ended the post-match interview, causing additional speculation over his future.
He expressed his disappointment at Wales’ exit, but emphasised that every player gave it their all. “It’s not how we wanted the game to go. We started well, we conceded a goal and the game changed a little bit, he said following the defeat. We unfortunately made a mistake, which killed the game on our side. To finish how we did was disappointing but I’d rather go out like that than doing nothing. It was a foul but the referee was being influenced by a lot of supporters but there’s no point missing excuses. We missed an opportunity but I think we can’t fault the effort the boys showed”, said the Welshman.
Bale has also ruled out a second loan spell at Tottenham, stating that he intends to stay in the Spanish capital for the remainder of his contract. It has grown much more eminent when Carlo Ancelotti replaced Zinedine Zidane, with whom Bale had publicly feuded.
It was a standout season in north London, with 11 league goals despite only starting ten games, fuelling debate over whether he’d return for another season. However, with one year left on his contract with Los Blancos, Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett has stated that will not be the case.
