Cardiff City miss out as Gareth Bale makes the pragmatic choice

Cardiff City miss out as Gareth Bale makes the pragmatic choice for next season

Gareth Bale choosing to see out next season with Cardiff City would have had an exceptional emotional pull,

[{"selector":"#anim-4b1aedce-3e1a-4ba8-a7d5-629671506368 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-49.917602366220166%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

least in the year that the national football team reached its first World Cup finals since 1958 and in the stadium which became so central to Wales’s qualification.

[{"selector":"#anim-3f1a751c-edb9-412d-9e32-0253b30de0bc [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(21.874999829338595%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}]

California than in Glamorganshire next season, especially if those World Cup finals are his primary focus for the second half of 2022.

[{"selector":"#anim-4454031e-fee1-4699-86ab-b0581676f365 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.179687404002955%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

Bale is a lavishly talented footballer and possessor of a left foot with alchemic properties, but he is also injury-prone and therefore delicate.

[{"selector":"#anim-9ee82233-59fa-4892-bc2e-30dbbfd9ca66 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-31.295731593820296%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

The English leagues already have a not-undeserved reputation for rough and tumble, and a division down from the elite,

[{"selector":"#anim-4b7e880f-d01d-4eb6-813a-91f9419a8398 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-33.12499989760315%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

and a division down from the elite, in the Championship, there is also a more punishing schedule of 46 league matches

[{"selector":"#anim-5535aee5-d6b2-429e-8e46-88dacf0ef150 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-45.30334457625072%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

It’s not difficult to imagine Bale taking a look at a schedule like that, pursing his lips, and exhaling.

[{"selector":"#anim-38809687-d1b5-4e05-ba36-89843d2f767e [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(25.527954047810255%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

MLB Insider Says Yankees Could Target These 2 Outfielders

[{"selector":"#anim-b2d2aeff-fb4c-4665-b408-9ff9018fd86c [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(31.257324105020174%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more