Gareth Bale is well aware of the perception of his transfer to Los Angeles FC.
Join a MLS club, make a little money, play a few games and, most importantly, stay in shape for a shot at glory with Wales at the 2022 World Cup. After that, there wouldn’t be much reason for Bale to stick around for a whole lot longer.
But at his introductory press conference on Monday, Bale insisted that he is in it for the long haul with LAFC, bringing up the possibility of staying through the 2024 European Championship, or even the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s not just a short thing, as I said. Also [it] gives me the best opportunity to keep going to the next Euros, maybe further,” the 32-year-old said.
“So my plan is to really work hard. It’s a great physical team, medical staff, performance staff at the training ground. We’ve got a great plan going forward to get me up to speed and hopefully last as long as possible.”
When Bale departed Real Madrid as a free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season, there was speculation that he would retire if Wales did not reach the 2022 World Cup. After the Welsh did in fact reach Qatar, Bale was on the hunt for a new team.
But the winger dismissed any notion that he’d be looking to hang it up after Wales completes its World Cup run.
“Of course I’m up for everything here. I’m still 32, like it says on the board, 33 at the end of the week, so I still have many years to come,” he said. “I haven’t come here just to be here for six months, 12 months. I’ve come to try to be here as long as possible. I want to do as well as I can and I want to try and make my mark on this league, on this team.”