Bale ready for one more magical moment as Wales take to world stage

At 33 years old, the Welsh winger has already produced countless moments that fans will be able to recall for years to come.

On both the club and national stage, Bale has provided football fans with some iconic performances and will go down as one of the greatest British players ever - but the question is whether he can come up with one more magical moment when Wales take to the biggest stage in football.

These are some of the biggest moments throughout Bale's career so far, leading up to his maiden - and potentially only - World Cup finals.

Welsh debut aged 16

Back in 2006, Bale was still on the books of Southampton aged just 16 but was attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

His raw ability also caught the eye of then-Wales manager John Toshack, who opted to include him in the national squad for the end-of-season friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.

After 55 minutes, Bale was brought on for his national team debut, with Wales going on to win 2-1. He was their youngest-ever debutant at the time, but nobody could have predicted what was to come over the next 16 years.

*That* game against Inter Milan

After securing a big move to Tottenham in 2007, the Welshman struggled at first to find his feet in the Premier League - but after three years in and out of the side, he finally nailed down his spot.

In 2010, Harry Redknapp's Spurs were drawn against Inter Milan in the Champions League group stages. A disastrous start saw them 4-0 down at half-time against the Italian giants but the second-half performance from Bale really put him out there as one of the most exciting emerging talents in Europe.

He famously dominated what was expected to be a fairly one-sided duel (not in the winger's favour) against Brazilian Maicon, one of the best right-backs in the world at the time. Bale's electric pace saw him breeze past his opponent with ease numerous times, enough to score a second-half hat-trick that many fans still remember fondly to this day.

Breaking the transfer record

Bale continually performed to the highest level for Spurs, winning the PFA Premier League Player of the Year award on two separate occasions as well as Young Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Association's Player of the Year accolades.

The end of the 2012/13 season saw the Welshman finish with 31 goals for club and country, which brought about interest from Real Madrid. That summer, Bale became the most expensive player in the history of the game at the time after signing for £85 million.

His Madrid career would eventually end badly as his relationship with the supporters soured, but that had little effect on his performances on the pitch. With 105 goals for the Spanish giants, as well as the trophies which deserve a section of their own, he was undoubtedly good value for every penny of his then-record transfer fee.

Euro 2016 joy

While his club form seemed to hit new heights every season in the mid-2010s, he also translated those performances to the national team. 

Wales reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016, with Bale at the heart of their fairytale. He scored three times including a famous free-kick against England as the Welsh made history at their first international tournament in 58 years.

They impressed again later down the line at Euro 2020, reaching the round of 16 stages. Their fans don't have long to wait to see if they can replicate that at the World Cup.

Countless trophies

As touched on, Bale has won a glittering array of trophies throughout his career, often having the deciding say in many finals. Most recently he scored a 128th-minute equaliser in LAFC's MLS Cup triumph against Philadelphia Union, with the Los Angeles-based side going on to win on penalties.

In his maiden season with Madrid, he netted an iconic winner in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona. He once again showed his stunning change of pace as he breezed past Marc Bartra and powered down the touchline before firing in the winning goal.

Not to mention his Champions League final strikes, bagging the second in Madrid's 4-1 win against Atletico back in 2014. Bale's most iconic strike would come in the 3-1 victory against Liverpool in 2018 when he scored one of the greatest goals European football has ever seen - a spectacular overhead kick from just inside the penalty area.

Wales. Golf. Madrid.

Perhaps one of the best-documented displays of disrespect from a player towards his own club came when Bale helped to confirm Wales' qualification for Euro 2020.

After beating Hungary 2-0, the Welshman was pictured with a banner stating: 'Wales, golf, Madrid. In that order', much to the delight of Welsh supporters, the amusement of neutral fans and the disgust of the Madrid faithful.

The now notorious moment laid a marker on Bale's football career and is almost always mentioned whenever he plays for the national team.

Fans will be hoping the Welsh legend can come up with one more historic moment when he takes to the stage in Qatar over the next few weeks.