Gareth Bale explains why he '100%' cannot become a professional golfer despite Real Madrid & Wales legend slashing handicap since retirement from football

The five-time Champions League winner, who starred as a ‘Galactico’ in the Spanish capital after becoming the most expensive player on the planet in 2013, reached the very top of global football - gracing major club competitions as well as the European Championship and World Cup.

Bale retired at the age of 33, following a spell in MLS with LAFC, with that decision coming as something of a surprise. Questions had, however, been asked for some time as to how committed the Welshman was to the latter stages of his career.

He has never hidden his passion for golf, with his schedule being cleared to spend more time on the fairways. That has allowed Bale to slash his handicap from “three or four” to just 0.1 - which suggests he would be good enough to mingle with the pros.

That is not a path that Bale intends to tread, with BBC Sport being told by a man that has previously graced the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am event on the PGA Tour: “I’m fully, 100 per cent sure, I can not make it professionally.

“When you are in golf and you see professional golfers play, compared to even your best stuff, it is nowhere near. When I’ve played with those players and watched them, you really appreciate how good they actually are.

“Never mind just playing with your friends, they are doing it under the most severe pressure, in tournament conditions, in hard weather. So there won’t be any professional (golf) for me. But I love the game. I love watching it, I love growing it.”

Bale has retained his ties to football, with punditry opportunities being embraced. He also forms part of a consortium that remains interested in completing a takeover of League One outfit Cardiff City.