Welsh football legend Gareth Bale has opened up on his life in retirement and addressed his next steps after launching a huge new investment fund. It's nearly four years since the 37-year-old announced he was hanging up his boots after captaining his country at their first World Cup in more than six decades.
The 2022 tournament in Qatar saw Bale make the last of his record 111 appearances for Wales, as he also ended his career as his country's all-time record goalscorer, having found the back of the net on 41 occasions. His club career, meanwhile, saw him burst onto the scene at Southampton before becoming a star at Tottenham Hotspur and sealing a then-world record £85 million move to Real Madrid. Bale would go on to win five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with the European giants, becoming one of the most decorated players in modern football history, before ending his career with MLS side Los Angeles FC.
Retirement and business portfolio
Now in retirement, the Welshman has been keeping busy, spending more time with his wife and four children while also building an impressive business portfolio, having acquired a remarkable personal net worth of an estimated £130 million during his playing career. Club ownership has emerged as a potential avenue for Bale to go down, with the former Madrid star last year fronting a consortium to buy hometown club Cardiff City, only to have a bid knocked back by current owner Vincent Tan.
While he admits he is still exploring opportunities in retirement - including TV work - and doesn't feel obliged to commit to any one of them, the Wales legend told Sports World that owning a club is still a potential option for him.
Club ownership and new investment fund
“I’m doing quite a few things and I think, eventually, I’ll find that one thing I really like and probably put a bit more time into it,” he said. "For the time being, I’m trying quite a variety of things and enjoying doing them."
On the possibility of club ownership, Bale added: "I wouldn’t want to just go anywhere. It would have to fit with what I felt and be something that I felt passionate about. I know football from a player’s perspective. You see what happens in the boardroom and what goes on around the club, but knowing what structure it needs to build from the ground up, in terms of academies and things like that, is all quite interesting. It feels a bit like Football Manager in real life."
It comes after Bale launched a new sports investment fund earlier this summer, joining forces with John Shulman and Juggernaut Capital Partners to set up Juggernaut Diversified Sports. Targeting opportunities across men's and women's sport in Europe and North America, the fund was established to combine Bale's expertise with Juggernaut's financial firepower, with the Washington-based investment firm managing more than $1 billion (£740m) in capital across its various funds.
Future plans
The scale of the venture suggests Bale is casting his net much wider than just Cardiff City, but the former Wales skipper has continued to stay tight-lipped about what the future might hold, instead simply admitting that partnering with Juggernaut "felt right".
“Since retiring, I’ve had a few opportunities come my way," he added. "But this is the one that felt right. I’ve spent a lot of time with John Shulman and the Juggernaut team, and what stood out to me is that they understand sport in a way that goes beyond just investment. They see the people, the communities and the culture behind it, which is exactly how I’ve always looked at the game. Sport has shaped my life, and this fund gives me the chance to stay connected to it in a meaningful way while helping build businesses and opportunities that can last."
