It's been over two years since Wales' football legend Gareth Bale hung up his boots and bid farewell to the sport.

Before retiring at 33, the Cardiff-born icon earned 111 caps for Wales, netted a record 41 goals, and led his country to three major tournaments, including their first World Cup in 64 years. His club career saw him rise from Southampton to stardom at Tottenham Hotspur, before making a then-record-breaking £85 million move to Real Madrid.

During his tenure in Spain, he clinched five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles, before ending his career with an MLS Cup title with Los Angeles FC. With 18 trophies under his belt, Bale retired as one of the most decorated players of his generation, leaving a remarkable legacy for future Welsh talents and beyond.

Despite stepping away from the pitch, Bale continues to live a glamorous life, enjoying dream holidays and attending high-profile events alongside sporting greats and royalty, including Novak Djokovic, Steph Curry and Prince William.

But retirement hasn't been all about leisure for Bale. He remains in top shape two years post-retirement and has kept busy with various business ventures.

Here's a glimpse into Bale's extraordinary new life off the football field.

Dream new life

Football superstar Bale has been enjoying life off the pitch, spending quality time with his wife and children. He tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones in 2019, and they have four children - Alba, Nava, Axel, and Xander, who was born in 2021.

Since retiring, Bale has shared numerous photos of 'family time', documenting holidays and special moments with his children on social media. Their travels have taken them to destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Lapland, and the United States.

The former footballer has also attended several high-profile events, including front-row appearances at global fashion shows, adding to his modelling portfolio with Burberry. He's rubbed shoulders with other celebrities, sharing photos with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, playing Playstation with F1 star Lando Norris, and hitting the golf course with Rory McIlroy.

Golf fanatic

Even at home, Bale leads an enviable lifestyle. He has a custom three-hole golf course in the garden of his £4 million mansion in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The mini-course features replicas of three of the world's most famous golf holes - the 17th at Sawgrass, the 'postage stamp' 8th at Royal Troon, and the 12th at Augusta National.

Two years after announcing his retirement, Bale's net worth is estimated to be an impressive £120 million.

The ex-Real Madrid superstar, was not just a footballing sensation but also a financial maestro, raking in a staggering £600,000 weekly during his Spanish tenure. Beyond the pitch, he's been setting up for a prosperous retirement with shrewd business ventures.

In 2017, he launched 'Elevens', his own bar in Cardiff, and capitalised on its triumph by merging his passion for golf with his entrepreneurial spirit to open Par 59 on the city's vibrant St Mary Street five years later. Not resting on his laurels, Bale has expanded his Par 59 brand to Bristol and made a "significant investment" in Penderyn Distillery as a minority shareholder, despite his personal abstention from alcohol.

Investments

His business acumen extends to the TGL golf league, co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, where he's invested, and he's bagged lucrative endorsement deals with global giants like Adidas, Playstation, and BMW over the years.

Following his retirement, there's been chatter about Bale possibly acquiring a football club. Osian Roberts, the former Wales assistant manager, revealed to The Athletic that Bale's teammates had playfully nudged him towards purchasing Merthyr Town FC.

"They joked during the Euros that they wanted Gareth to buy a Welsh club lower down," he disclosed. "It was Merthyr (who play in the seventh tier of the English league system), actually.

"Everyone would sign for him and take them all the way through the pyramid to the Premier League, so they could all play together every week. That's how close they were - they didn't want to just do it during the international breaks, they wanted to be together every day of the week."

Gym work

Bale has also been turning heads not just for his sporting prowess but also for his remarkable physique, as recent Instagram posts from a trip to Abu Dhabi reveal. The retired footballer flaunted his toned torso and six-pack on the beach, proving that he's kept in excellent shape despite being away from the pitch for over two years.

Bale's passion for sport continues unabated, with golf being his current pursuit, boasting an impressive handicap of two. His talent on the greens caught the attention of Rory McIlroy, who played alongside Bale last year and commended his potential: "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," McIlroy observed.

"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 learning now."

Shortly after hanging up his football boots, Bale caused quite the stir by nailing his first-ever hole in one during a golfing trip in California, all captured on film by a mate. On his Instagram page, he's seen perfecting his swing when the pal behind the camera predicts the shot of the day: "Hole in one time, never had one. This is the hole to do it".

As the ball sailed 200 yards before dropping into the hole, incredulous joy erupted among Bale's entourage. His friend excitedly exclaimed "he doesn't just do bicycle kicks" - nodding to Bale's iconic goal in the 2018 Champions League final.

Moreover, last year saw Bale stepping onto the green in a different capacity as he was named ambassador for the Underrated Golf European Tour, created by basketball legend Steph Curry, working also with Adidas to front their golfing content.