Gareth Bale sat down for an exclusive interview with SW, where he discusses life after retirement. He expressed satisfaction with his career achievements, feeling honored to be mentioned alongside Best and Charlton.

Three years after retiring, the Welsh legend and five-time Champions League winner spoke about leaving behind the pressure of Real Madrid, his daily routine of driving his children to school, how golf became his escape long before he hung up his boots, and his true feelings about being recognized as one of the greatest English footballers. From proving himself as a young player at Cardiff to competing at Euro 2016 and the World Cup, and winning the Champions League five times with Real Madrid, Bale reflects on his career, the sacrifices he made along the way, and why he is in no rush to decide what comes next.

Gareth, welcome to SW. First of all, how are you doing today? Are you well?

Yeah, this is perfect. It would be nicer if I could spend a bit more time outdoors, maybe. But yeah, this is good. It's fun doing this shoot and I'm enjoying it.

Great to chat with you. I'm not sure if you Google your own name, but I definitely did before this interview. There's a lot that comes up about your achievements—Champions League titles, league titles. And one phrase that comes up quite often is "the greatest English footballer of all time." You're being compared with George Best and Bobby Charlton. What does it mean to you to be put in that category?

Yeah, I mean, it's a bit strange, isn't it? Of course, it's very flattering, but I've always felt that these kinds of things are for other people to decide, rather than me judging myself.

Now that you've retired, do you look back on your career and see what you've achieved?

Yeah, I mean, I'm very happy with what I've done in my life. If someone had told me before I became a professional footballer that I would achieve all of those things, I probably wouldn't have believed them.

So to be able to achieve what I have is truly remarkable. And now I can look back and enjoy it and treasure all the memories.

You've clearly been in the spotlight throughout your career and at the peak of the sport. But perhaps not many people really know Gareth Bale. In your own words, who are you? What is Gareth Bale like?

I guess it's probably how I've always wanted to be. I'm quite a quiet person. I like being at home with my family. I just want to play football and then go home. So I'm probably a bit mysterious, but I'm just an ordinary person, a bit boring, easy to please, and now enjoying life.

What's life like now that you're no longer in the spotlight?

Yeah, I'm still enjoying it. The pressure is obviously much reduced now—not having to perform every week in front of a global audience. So it's nice to step away from that for a while, and I'm enjoying life, spending more time with my kids and my wife.

Just being a father, being a husband, and doing simple things that I maybe couldn't do before. Watching my son play football on the weekend, taking my daughters to school, all those kinds of things are brilliant now. When you're playing, you're always recovering, preparing for matches, traveling, and those simple things in life are so easily missed. So it's great to be at home and just be a father and husband and enjoy that side of life.

And taking the kids to school brings its own pressure—getting them there on time. Sometimes it's not easy in the mornings.

I saw that when you decided to retire, you wanted to spend a few years with your family. How special has that experience been for you?

Honestly, it's been incredible. Like I said, taking the kids to school is something I couldn't do as often before. Now I can spend time with them and watch them grow up. My eldest daughter is now 13, and she was only 10 months old when we moved to Madrid. Her childhood went by so quickly, and I always felt like I was missing out on so much—birthday parties, taking them to school, going to the park.

So it's important for me to really be there and spend quality time with them now that I've retired. I can be much more present as a father, whereas before my career probably made me somewhat absent. I also get to spend more time with my wife. She's been amazing throughout my career, supporting everything I've done, being the rock of our family, and managing everything at home. Now I can help more around the house, and I'm really enjoying being with my family.

What do your days look like now?

I wake up a bit earlier now to help with the morning routine, getting the kids up and getting them ready for school. But generally, every day is a bit different. Of course I have some work commitments.

After the kids head off to school, my wife and I can spend more time together. We both have our own hobbies—I enjoy playing golf and practicing. On a day like today, it's great to go play golf with friends. I'm also doing things that interest me, and I have more time to dedicate to them now. Even though I probably have more free time, it feels like I'm busier than ever because I'm doing lots of different things each day. But I'm still very much enjoying my current lifestyle.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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