Having enjoyed an illustrious career in the game, it was only right that Gareth Bale retired having recently won a trophy. The Welshman, who officially stepped away from his playing career on Monday, walks away as his nation's most-capped men's player with 111 appearances. He also won the Champions League on five occasions with Real Madrid and played more than 500 times as a professional.
Bale joined Southampton as a schoolboy and made his debut for the Saints as a 16-year-old in April 2006. Unsurprisingly, given how highly he was regarded, his first senior cap for Wales followed just a matter of weeks later. His career then took him to Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, before his move to Los Angeles. He finished his career having won the MLS Cup and Supporters Shield towards the end of last year - the 21st trophy in his cabinet.
His first competitive appearance for Spurs actually came against Manchester United in August 2007, and he gave Ryan Giggs a difficult afternoon on that day. He was so blistering the visiting fans heckled Giggs with cries of 'You're just a s**t Gareth Bale'. It was somewhat fitting that his Premier League debut came against the Reds, considering the fact that the club had tried desperately hard to sign him while he was at Southampton.
