Gareth Bale announced his retirement on Monday, bringing an end to a trophy-laden and eventful career spanning 17 seasons.
Southampton product Bale made a name for himself at Tottenham, but it was in nine years at Real Madrid he truly rose to stardom – although he had a turbulent time in the Spanish capital.
Despite playing starring roles in two Champions League finals and winning 16 trophies, Bale's time in Madrid turned sour long before he departed last June.
The versatile attacker famously paraded with a banner that read "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" in 2019 and that understandably did not go down well with Los Blancos fans.
Playing time continued to be limited at Los Angeles FC, but Bale scored an extra-time leveller in the MLS Cup final against Philadelphia Union, which his side won on penalties.
Yet for all his success at club level, it was arguably with Wales that Bale enjoyed his proudest moments, not least reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Bale also played a huge part in ending Wales' 64-year wait to qualify for the World Cup last year, with their group defeat to England proving to be his final game as a professional.
As the curtain comes down on Bale's playing days at the age of just 33, Stats Perform breaks down the numbers from a remarkable career.
Bale played 664 matches for club and country and scored 226 goals, the majority of those unsurprisingly coming for Madrid (106).
He also netted 41 times in 111 games for Wales, becoming his country's record goalscorer and cap holder in the process.
The Cardiff-born forward also netted five goals for Southampton and three for LAFC at either end of his career, while bagging 71 in 237 matches for Tottenham.
It was his superb form for Spurs, particularly in the 2012-13 season, that saw Bale make a then-record €100.8million (£85.1m) switch to Madrid.
That would prove to be Bale's best season in terms of goals as he netted 21, nine of those from outside the box in the Premier League – a single-season record that still stands.
Add his four assists into the mix and only Robin van Persie (35) and Luis Suarez (28) played a direct part in more goals than Bale's 25 during that campaign.
As impressive as Bale was for Spurs, though, he did not have any silverware to show for it. That would all soon change at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He is the only player to score a match-winning goal in two Champions League finals, doing so in 2013-14 against Atletico Madrid and in 2017-18 to break Liverpool's hearts.
Bale scored twice against Liverpool, aided by a horror shown from Loris Karius, making him the first substitute to score more than once in a single Champions League final.
Those three combined final goals are second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (four), who it is fair to say will be far better remembered by Madrid supporters than Bale.
While his part in some of Madrid's triumphs in more recent seasons was limited, Bale does at least deserve his place in club folklore.
His 258 appearances for Los Blancos are more than the likes of Luis Figo (245) and Zinedine Zidane (227) made, and just short of the great Ferenc Puskas' tally of 262.
Furthermore, Bale is one of only 22 players in Madrid's esteemed history to have reach the 100-goal mark, his 106 strikes more than Brazil legend Ronaldo (104) managed.
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Jonathan David names Barcelona as dream club amid Lille uncertainty
Jonathan David admits it is his dream to play for Barcelona as he prepares to enter the final six months of his Lille contract.
The Canada international is into his fifth season with the Ligue 1 side but is due to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.
Lille have attempted to persuade David with a new deal, though he looks set to depart Stade Pierre-Mauroy in 2025 – potentially as early as January if a club is prepared to pay a transfer fee.
However, while the 24-year-old is seemingly open to a move to Barcelona, he suggested he would prefer to wait until the end of the campaign before taking the next step in his career.
"Going to a club midseason is never easy," he told The Athletic. "It's not like the beginning of a season where you have a pre-season, you get to know your team-mates, you have time to gel.
"In January, things are very hectic. It's about right now. It's tougher."
"[Barcelona] was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it's your dream to play for them.
"Some people might say, 'Oh, he's staying at Lille, this is a downgrade, he's not getting better'. But for me, there's always opportunities to get better."
David has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Lille in all competitions this season, including goals against heavyweight sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League.
Including penalties, eight of those goals have been scored via his stronger right boot, four with his left and one with his head – an area the forward accepts he can still improve.
"Aerially, I can get better," he said. "Getting that header on target and scoring.
"I can get in good positions and win headers but the finishing touch, I'm still missing. With my back to goal, I can also get better."
David is averaging a goal every 112 minutes across all competitions this season, which compares to one every 139 minutes last season and 131 in 2022-23.
However, he still has some way to go to match the 18 goals scored in 27 league games for former club Gent in 2019-20.
"Things are good right now because I'm scoring goals," David said.
"But is this the best I've played in my life? Probably not. For me, it was my second year in Belgium. That was the season of my life."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
