At the age of 33, Gareth Bale announced his retirement from professional football on Monday 9 January, his last game as a player coming in Wales' 3-0 loss to England at World Cup 2022.
While many focussed on a stellar career that produced five Champions League trophies, three La Liga crowns and becoming Wales' all-time record appearance maker and goalscorer - among plenty of other personal accolades - talk soon turned to what Bale would do post-football.
Indeed, Bale's final few seasons at Real Madrid were slightly marred by the suggestion that he prefers golf over the club paying his wages. After all, as the now-famous banner said: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."
He is clearly a keen golfer, though, playing off a handicap of just two. As the experts at Golf Monthly assert, that's no mean feat.
"Bale plays off a handicap of two," the publication wrote. "A seriously impressive number for a man best known for playing for 17 seasons at the highest level of an entirely different sport."
Inevitably, Bale's retirement coupled with his love of golf has increased speculation that he will involve himself in some capacity even further within the game. Bookmakers are already suggesting he could turn his hand to becoming a professional golfer, with odds considerably shorter than might be expected for a just-retired footballer.
OLBG, an online bookmaking expert, has attempted to discover what Bale's next career path will be, with him beginning a career as a professional golfer coming in at just 5/1. Just months after playing for his country at a World Cup in Qatar, the bookies genuinely believe Bale could be stepping out as a sportsman in a completely different sport. Bizarre, but possible.
His most likely next step, according to OLBG, though, will involve buying and designing his own golf course.
The 2/1 odds relate to his interest in that particular field, considering he has already built replicas of his favourite par-3s from golf courses across the world at his home in Cardiff.
Of course, as is customary among any high-profile, recently retired players, becoming a regular BT, BBC or Sky pundit is high on the list, at 4/1. Speculation also suggests he could manage a professional football team - with separate odds for the Wales manager role - become a Tottenham ambassador, appear on reality TV, such as I'm A Celebrity, or even run for a seat in Welsh Parliament.
It is unclear what Bale will do next, but, one thing is for sure, he will undoubtedly still spend countless hours on the golf course as he enjoys retirement.
