Gareth Bale Joins LAFC, Proving MLS Isn't a 'Retirement League'
Gareth Bale is a remarkable footballer with a history of scoring ridiculous goals, including against West Ham.
In the year before his then-world-record transfer to Real Madrid, the Welshman was on a heater. He ended the campaign with 21 goals and four assists, sweeping his rivals aside to be crowned the Premier League’s Player of the Season.
He was utterly dominant in 2012-13 and proved it at Upton Park by dismantling Sam Allardyce’s Hammers on 25 February.
With the contest tied 2-2 in the final minute of play, the 1989-born winger received the ball midway into the attacking half. Instinctively, he lifted his head, shifted the ball onto his left foot, and shot from 40 yards.
The away end erupted seconds later. Jussi Jääskeläinen was beaten; the game was done. Spurs won.
Remarkably, Bale’s strike at the Boleyn Ground doesn’t headline his highlight reel. (His overhead kick in the 2017-18 Champions League final is hard to beat…)
However, it springs to my mind whenever he’s in the news because I watched the ball arc into the top corner from the best seat in the house. I was sitting directly above Jääskeläinen’s net, in the first row of the upper tier, when it bulged. It still sings.
(Sidebar: I have plenty of fond memories from my seat at Upton Park, including Dimitri Payet’s free-kick against Crystal Palace — I’m in some of the wide-angle highlight footage!)
Anyway, Bale’s decade-old heroics are back on WH+19’s agenda because he signed on the dotted line with Los Angeles FC earlier this week. In doing so, the 32-year-old rejected a sensational approach from Cardiff City, his hometown club, and shoved Major League Soccer back under the spotlight.
Of course, he isn’t the first former Galactico to join an LA-based MLS franchise during the back nine of his career. David Beckham walked so Bale could run, apparently.
"This is the right place for me and my family and the right time in my career and I cannot wait to get started working with the team and getting ready to win more trophies in Los Angeles,” Bale said on Tuesday (28 June).
Larry Berg, the club’s managing owner, added: "Bringing a player and a person of Gareth's calibre to LAFC is a historic moment for Los Angeles, MLS and the game in the United States."
However, Bale’s switch to the Californian club hasn’t pleased everyone, refuelling accusations that MLS is a ‘retirement league’.
But it isn’t — and hasn’t been for a while.
Although the cross-border competition isn’t perfect, it’s now a hotbed for homegrown talent, including Gabriel Slonina and Jesús Ferreira. Also of note: MLS ranks sixth in the world for average attendance, has significantly closed the gap to Liga MX, and is capable of attracting developing talents from abroad.
Argentine wonderkid Thiago Almada is the perfect example of the league’s changing profile. He joined Atlanta United in a transfer worth $16m earlier this year, becoming the club’s Young Designated Player.
The 21-year-old is a key figure for the Georgian team but isn’t likely to stick around for long. For its stars, MLS is a stepping stone, with 33 of the league’s players transferring to European clubs in January.
As the 27-year-old competition chases down European rivals, its status as a talent farm has gone from strength to strength — as demonstrated by the $18m fee FC Augsburg paid for teenage forward Ricardo Pepi.
That said, MLS remains a destination for veterans of Europe’s big five leagues.
Toronto FC just signed Lorenzo Insigne
Giorgio Chiellini will turn out with Carlos Vela and Gareth Bale for LAFC
Nani (Orlando City) and Gonzalo Higuain (Inter Miami) represent each of Florida’s clubs
And, as salary cap-exempt Designated Players, most of those guys are paid handsomely. But that isn’t true of Bale.
His one-year deal with LAFC will see him earn $1.3m: he left money on the table to join MLS. (I’m sure he’ll be fine, though.)
"We came up with what we thought was a good offer to him, but finally it was very hard to compete when there is a lot of big American advertisers, a lot of commercial deals which were very good for Gareth,” Cardiff chairman Vincent Tan said of Bale’s decision to join LAFC.
"Initially with Gareth, it wasn't really the money, he just wanted to help Cardiff and help Wales. That's why we could negotiate with him. He tried his best to join us but eventually I think the offer from LAFC was just too big to turn down. We tried our best but we failed."
While Bale will earn plenty in the United States, money wasn’t the determining factor in his move to California. It’s all about the World Cup.
It’s no secret that Bale adores playing for his country. Unlike many of his peers, the Cardiff-born attacker reserves his best performances for the international stage. His order of priorities is clear.
And that’s why he signed with LAFC in MLS: it’s the perfect place to prepare for Qatar 2022.
Bale has six months to work on his sharpness while playing meaningful matches on a championship-contending roster… based in Los Angeles.
It’s a win-win scenario and a testament to North American soccer’s ever-improving reputation. If the Welshman thought MLS was a retirement league, he wouldn’t be entrusting his World Cup preparation to it.
Bale to LAFC proves that MLS is a place to be; not retire.
Hello,
Thanks for reading today’s newsletter, your support is really appreciated.
I plan to write more frequently in July, covering the Women’s Euros and assorted world football topics (like this piece on Gareth Bale) in addition to my work on West Ham.
If you’d like my work delivered to your inbox, please subscribe.
Thanks,
Luke James