Gareth Bale admits he’s ‘LOVING’ retirement and jokes about how much golf he’s playing since calling time on his glittering career

Tottenham and Wales legend Gareth Bale has revealed he is ‘lovingly’ retiring, almost two years after calling time on his glittering football career at the age of 33.

Bale, who won five Champions Leagues during his trophy-laden years at Real Madrid, made a surprise appearance on the TNT Sports panel ahead of the Spanish giants’ match against Liverpool on Wednesday and lifted the lid on his post-retirement life.

The ex-Spurs star, a keen golfer, couldn’t resist joking about his other passion outside of football, explaining that he actually has time to enjoy the sport these days.

When asked how life has treated him since he hung up his boots, Bale said: “Nice to come back to a football stadium. I love it (retirement)! I’m actually going to play golf now, instead of people writing about it.’

The 35-year-old, who announced his retirement in January 2023 shortly after captaining Wales at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scored one of the best Champions League goals in history when he acrobatically netted a bicycle kick for Real Madrid against Liverpool in the 2018 final.

Bale admitted that a major benefit of retirement has been being able to spend more time with his family, and joked that at times he has almost become a taxi company for his children.

‘It was nice to spend time with my children. When you’re playing, you’re constantly tired and you sleep in different rooms. I’ve just really been there for them and had some family time. I use the app (Uber, to ferry around his kids).”

More to follow.

The Tottenham and Real Madrid legend joined Rio Ferdinand (left) in TNT Sports’ panel of experts