Gareth Bale joins Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC

Lots of expats in Hollywood eh Gareth? If you see Ioan give him my regards...

Was there ever any chance of him actually moving to Cardiff? Can't help but feel most of the headlines in the last few weeks about that were just clickbait. Never seemed to be any substance to the story.

So you’re the new Cynan eh? I preferred the old one

Bale has been significant in helping Cymru to its first World Cup since before I was born. But this move is, I think a misstep on his part. Dangling the carrot of joining a Welsh club seems to have been a poorly thought out gambit to create a bidding war for his last good years. He doesn’t NEED the money, but a million quid a game is hard to turn down. I fear his greed will negatively impact his preparation for the tournament. His new yank club are not going to give a stuff about Wales and his immune system is going to take a hit having just left Spain, then shuttling between Wales USA and Qatar. A shame all those years of work and he shoots himself in the foot at the 11th hour. Oh what might have been Gareth! Never mind, if you crash out of the WC, in the early rounds, no doubt you can join the growing colony of “I’m proud to be from Wales but I don’t want to live there” Hollywood Welsh. I mean I’m grateful that he was probably the most influential player in getting to the Finals, and nothing he does now will make me think less of him as a person. I just think this was a stupid mistake and he was advised poorly by his agent. He gave hope to Welsh fans that he would bring his magic to the country he loves, to help lift that club like he lifted Wales, then snatched it away. But more than that, I’m concerned this action will derail his own dreams. Could have gone down as the greatest sportsman Wales has produced. Boosted our profile globally, and our economy significantly. But I guess another £20m to add to the other £100m+ is very attractive. Just goes to show there are no shining heroes. No superheroes to lift us from our troubles. People are just people. A tangled mix of morality, spite, kindness, self-interest, moments of genius, moments of stupidity, confidence and insecurity. These is no modern Arthrwys to lead us to glory. There is just us. But for all that, best of luck Cymru in the finals, and best of luck Gareth. Thank you for the great things you have achieved for us so far.

Gareth's done more for the welsh nation than most of us will ever do. He certainly doesnt need to explain his liestyle and career choices to gutless trolls who havent even got the bottle to post their gibberish under their own name

Gareth’s done more for the welsh nation than most of us will ever do. He certainly doesnt need to explain his liestyle and career choices to gutless trolls who havent even got the bottle to post their gibberish under their own name (youre not even worthy of a different reply to that other gutless troll on here 😉)

I'm not very knowledgeable about football but no one can fail to recognise Gareth's amazing achievements with and for Wales. Apart from the fact he's being greedy (he's a professional sportsman with a short career - in my view he's entitled to maximise his earnings while he can), the main criticism among the comments is that a move to LA will be detrimental to his fitness and keeping him in shape for the World Cup. It seems to me that a league where the playing conditions will be a lot closer to those in Qatar might be a better preparation than trips to Preston, Hull or Middlesborough? Also, isn't the Championship a pretty attritional league? Wouldn't every defender in it want to make their reputation by clogging him every time he plays? How's that going to keep him in peak condition for the World Cup? So, the lad's done pretty well for us up until now. While I'm sure a lot of City supporters will be dissapointed not to see him playing for them, I think we should all give him the benefit of the doubt that he's not just making the right financial decision for him but also the one that'll maximise his chances of peaking for Wales in Qatar.