Now far from Real Madrid and football pitches, Gareth Bale, who enjoys his role as a sports pundit, has opened up about the 2025 Ballon d’Or. During a prediction game ahead of last week’s clash between Liverpool and Carlo Ancelotti’s side, the Welshman surprised many.
He is one of the great names who have left a lasting impression on European football in recent years. Now retired, Gareth Bale (35 years old) is enjoying a happy life. A keen golfer, the former Welsh striker, who enjoyed the best years of his football career at Real Madrid (between 2013 and 2022, 258 matches for 106 goals), now takes pleasure in commenting on matches. Far more talkative than he was during his playing days, the five-time UEFA Champions League winner never misses an opportunity to address major football topics, especially those involving Real Madrid.
Bale swears by Real Madrid
Last Wednesday at Anfield, he shared some strong opinions live on TNT Sport, where he works as a pundit. Despite Real Madrid’s 2-0 loss, Gareth Bale defended Kylian Mbappé, who had been criticised as the main culprit for the defeat due to his performance (including several missed chances, notably a penalty). As if that wasn’t enough, the former Welsh national team star made some rather surprising predictions. Participating in a game of forecasting major ongoing competitions, the former Tottenham player tipped Real Madrid as favourites.
In the Champions League, for instance, Bale doesn’t see any team dethroning Real Madrid despite their current struggles to qualify for the round of 16. However, while he doesn’t foresee the competition’s top scorer coming from the Madrid squad (he named Harry Kane), the man who tormented Loris Karius (Liverpool’s former goalkeeper) in the 2018 Champions League final also predicted that the Madrid side would retain their La Liga title this season.
Mbappé: Ballon d’Or 2025 according to Bale
Although these are bold predictions, which he doesn’t make solely because of his past with the Madrid side, Gareth Bale surprised many with his choice for the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner. Overlooking Vinícius Júnior, who narrowly missed out on the 2024 trophy due to significant slip-ups and errors, the former Madrid forward believes the next edition will belong to Kylian Mbappé. Despite the 25-year-old forward’s struggles to shine at the start of his journey in the white shirt, Bale remains convinced that the rest of the season will be a completely different story for the Frenchman.
It’s a big gamble, to say the least. With 10 goals in 19 matches for Madrid, KM9, who, according to a close associate of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, “will never win a Ballon d’Or at Real Madrid,” remains in contention for the 69th edition of France Football’s trophy. If he manages a Champions League and La Liga double, potentially scores around 30 goals, and delivers decisive performances, the Bondy native could prove Gareth Bale right. We’ll see in October.
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