It’s often joked that Gareth Bale only really enjoyed playing for Wales, but could he actually retire from club football to purely dedicate himself to international football.
It seems like an absurd situation because he’ll always be short of match fitness, but a report from the Mirror has indicated that’s exactly what he plans to do.
In some ways it’s not a total shock as he did make some comments before Euro 2020 as saying that he knew what he was going to do, but he couldn’t reveal it yet as it would result in chaos.
He’s still contracted to Real Madrid so in theory the only way he could have total control over his future would be to retire, but it would also be shocking if he walks away from another year on massive wages in Spain.
In some ways they might not mind that if they can avoid having to pay the bulk of his salary for another year, while it gives Bale a chance to fully dedicate himself to Wales as they look to reach the World Cup next season.
It’s unprecedented for a player of his profile to pull something like this, while there will surely be a clamour for him to get a club at some point just to keep himself fit.