Tottenham legend Gareth Bale will be part of TNT Sports' team of pundits for the Champions League clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield. The Welshman retired from professional football in January 2023 with a catalogue of stunning goals and countless honours won.
Bale began his career at Southampton as a left-back before joining Spurs in 2007 and playing across two spells, scored 71 goals and picked up 53 assists. In between that, he was on the books of Real Madrid, scoring on 106 separate occasions, and was crucial in Los Blancos winning three consecutive Champions League titles.
One of those triumphs came at the expense of Liverpool with Bale having a rich history when it comes to this fixture in the Champions League. Off the bench, he scored twice to help Madrid win 3-1 in the 2018 final with one of his goals a stunning overhead kick.
And now he will be making his punditry debut on Wednesday evening at Anfield as Liverpool welcome his former club. Since departing the game over 18 months ago, despite not often appearing on our screens relating to football, Bale has certainly been keeping busy.
With that said, football.london has taken a look at Bale's huge net worth along with the activities and business ventures now occupying his time.
Family and early life
Bale was born in Cardiff on July 16, 1989 to parents Frank and Debbie. At the age of just 9, he came to the attention of Southampton and in 2006, became the second-youngest player to feature for the Saints at 16 years and 275 days, just 132 days older than Theo Walcott.
Bale married his childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones in 2019 with the couple having three kids, two girls and one boy, all born before they tied the knot with another son arriving the summer of 2021. He still lives in Madrid and was recently appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for his service to association football and charity.
Net worth and Business ventures
Following the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Bale announced his decision to retire from football at the age of 34. Despite that, his net worth has remained extremely high with it believed to be at £115.3million ($145m), as of August 2024.
A large reason behind that is likely because of some decisions Bale made during his playing career which would set him up well down the line. In May 2017 he partnered with Bains Brewery to open a bar called Elevens on Castle Street in Cardiff.
Following that, he was inspired by his love of golf to open another establishment roughly two years ago, this one called 'Par 59' which is on St Mary's Street in in the Welsh capital. A second branch has also since opened in Bristol and can be found on Millennium Promenade.
The 35-year-old has also made a "significant investment" in Penderyn Distillery in November 2022, which saw him become a minority shareholder in the company. In roughly the same period, Bale invested in the new TGL golf league set up by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, though the start of that was delayed to 2025.
Golf journey and McIlroy relationship
If it wasn't already clear from his business decisions, Bale is clearly a huge fan of golf. Many professional footballers play the sport during their careers but Bale has certainly taken that up a notch after his retirement.
Having played in a number of amateur competitions, Bale has began taking the sport far more seriously which saw him recently team up with McIlroy at the inaugural DP World Tour Play-Offs in September. Prior to that, he spoke very highly of Bale when discussing footballers that could make the switch to golf and thrive.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast earlier this year, Mcllroy said: "I’ve played with Teddy Sheringham – good player. Gareth Bale – he has the potential to get to scratch [a handicap of zero], the way he hits the ball he could be a scratch player, but he’s only played for the last few years.
"There is a difference between being able to hit the golf ball well and getting yourself around the golf course and managing your game – that’s the part he’s [Gareth Bale] learning now." Despite improving and playing in more tournaments, Bale has certainly kept it fun and that was evidenced by what happened to him in October.
During a celebrity Pro-Am event in Scotland, moments after an excellent chip which seemingly set him up perfectly for a put, a dog ran onto the course and stole his ball, but thankfully for Bale it did not hugely impact his hole with the ball placed back in it's initial spot and no penalty awarded.