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Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, Football, Cardiff City
Nasir Jabbar
Gareth Bale could sign a short-term deal with a new club before RETIRING after the upcoming World Cup should Wales book their spot in Qatar.
Bale will be a free agent at the end of the season when his current Real Madrid contract expires.
He's expected to leave Spain and will look for a new club in the summer in a bid to maintain match fitness ahead of the World Cup.
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Though Wales' place at the World Cup is not confirmed, with Robert Page's side set to face either Scotland or Ukraine for a spot in this year's tournament.
If Wales make it, he could pen a short-term contract at Cardiff City who have been sensationally linked with the player's services, according to the Standard.
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But he could call time on his storied career just six months in.
However, if Wales fail to qualify for the World Cup, the report states that the 32-year-old is expected to retire from football.
Wales inched closer to booking their place at the World Cup thanks to magic from Bale, who scored both goals in his side's 2-1 win over Austria last week.
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The Real man converted a stunning free-kick, with Page telling the superstar forward that's the best free-kick he's seen in his life.
"I don't think it's sunk in properly yet. What a game, what a night. The star man turns up, and I've just said to him, 'that's the best free-kick I've seen in my life,'" he said via the Wales Online.
"A deflected goal against us makes it an anxious last half an hour, but, to a man, I thought they were outstanding. They thoroughly deserve all of the plaudits they're going to get, those players. They're an unbelievable group of men.
"We're a cup final away now. There was no talk of the importance of the game. They know what it is. We prepared like any other game, and it was all about Austria.
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"They are a very good team. Our supporters got us through it. A million per cent. When they were singing the anthem in the 85th minute, that gets you through it. It gets you across the line."