Gareth Bale lands new football role as former Tottenham Hotspur star makes major career change

Tottenham icon Gareth Bale has secured a new role as a leading football pundit for TNT Sports in the upcoming season.

The ex-Real Madridand Spurs star has inked a deal with the broadcaster to be a key figure in its Premier League and Champions League coverage throughout the 2025/26 season, as reported by The Guardian.

Bale steps into the shoes ofManchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, who departed from TNT after a 12-year stint, choosing not to renew his contract at the end of the previous season.

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The 36-year-old has previously lent his expertise to TNT's European football broadcasts, reportedly impressing the network's executives with his insightful analysis of Spurs' Europa League final victory over United in May.

He will join Peter Crouchand Joe Coleon TNT's live Premier League coverage on Saturday lunchtimes, while Owen Hargreaves, Steve McManaman, Ally McCoist and Karen Carney are also part of TNT's punditry team for domestic and European matches.

This marks another significant step for Bale, who hung up his boots at the age of 33 following Wales' underwhelming performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar - their first World Cup appearance in 64 years.His illustrious career saw him earn 111 caps for Wales, netting a record 41 goals for his country and guiding them to three major tournaments.

On the club front, he kick-started his career at Southampton before rising to prominence at Tottenham Hotspur and subsequently securing a then-world record £85 million transfer to Real Madrid. After clinching five Champions League titles and three La Liga crowns in Spain, Bale hung up his boots with an MLS Cup triumph at Los Angeles FC, retiring as one of football's most decorated players with a staggering 18 trophies.

Bale's transition to a role with TNT follows his disclosure of ambitions to acquire Cardiff City, his boyhood club. The ex-Wales captain was part of a consortium that expressed interest in the League One side by submitting a formal letter of intent to Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan.

Despite reports suggesting a £40million bid had been lodged, sources within the club refuted such claims. Nonetheless, last month Bale announced that a "brand new offer" had been presented.

In conversation with Front Office Sports Today, the former striker shared his belief that a "more than fair offer" has been made, indicating he was awaiting the club's decision.

"It's exciting news," he revealed. "We have a brand new offer on the table, it's recently just gone in. We think it's a great offer, one that we're very happy with.

"We think it's very fair, if not more than fair, and it's something we hope the current owners will take serious. We'd love them to accept so we can take full control and get on with what we want to do and create Cardiff into a club that we know it can be."

He later disclosed to ESPN: "We are interested in trying to take over Cardiff. We have actually put in a great new offer that we hope we can get feedback (from). We think it's a very good offer for where the club is at.

"It's kind of out of our hands now and we are looking forward to seeing what develops with that."

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