Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Gareth Bale scored 41 goals in 111 caps for Wales, retiring after the 2022 World Cup
ByChris WathanBBC Sport Wales- Published37 minutes ago
It was a question Gareth Bale faced as soon as he left the pitch at the last World Cup.
Four years on, the Wales great has found his answer to "what happens next?"
The tournament in Qatar proved to be Bale's final moments as a player having achieved pretty much everything he had put his mind to.
Granted, the group stage exit in the Middle East wasn't part of the plan, but being an integral part of his nation's first World Cup appearance in 64 years felt like the final ambition met.
Never truly one for the limelight or courting the media, it could have been easy – and easily understood – if Bale wanted to stay in the background and simply enjoy the fruits of a club career that saw him lift the Champions League five times in a nine-year spell at Real Madrid.
But ambition, it seems, still burns.
Bale is now part of a US-based investment vehicle that could yet see him join a growing list of former players getting a taste of club ownership.
Previously linked with hometown club Cardiff City – as well as League One Plymouth Argyle – the sports fund he has joined has made contact with a number of clubs as they weigh up next moves.
Bale's new goal may take time, but it is to be taken seriously.
"I was always somebody who was going to try loads of different things," Bale tells BBC Sport Wales.
"I didn't know, ultimately, what I wanted to do after football.
"Everybody jokes that I'd just play plenty of golf – which of course I'm going to do – but I've tried punditry, I've done commercial stuff, this, that and the other.
"I've enjoyed it, but this has really excited me and the first to really get the juices flowing about what the future could hold."
Bale more 'complete' than Ronaldo - Casemiro
- Published12 May
Bale eyes football club investment via new fund
- Published6 days ago
A future that, he says, has always intrigued him - perhaps not dissimilar to David Beckham.
Like Bale, the English icon was his nation's footballing figurehead and could have had his pick of post playing jobs, before ending up a co-owner of MLS franchise Inter Miami as part of various business interests.
Was that route an influence?
"I think so, a lot of American athletes do that type of thing and I would read about it and listen to interviews about what they've done," says Bale, whose old Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric has become a minority investor in Swansea City.
"A lot of players still go down the coaching route, management or even with younger players at academies.
"But you are seeing more players being a bit more business minded. Maybe because we've done so much on one side, this side becomes a new chapter, a new world.
"It always really interested me, but I didn't really have the opportunity before being introduced to John."
The John who could help Bale build it like Beckham is experienced US investor John Shulman, founder of private equity firm Juggernaut Capital.
The company is said to have $1bn in capital commitments and had already been investing in various sport businesses – from golf courses and volleyball to "thrill" sports - but sensed an opportunity, especially when it came to Europe and the UK.
Shulman says he wanted to bring on board "an elite, iconic athlete" to help launch a sports specific investment platform – Juggernaut Diversified Sports - ready to invest more than £500m.
And after an introduction – and, naturally, a round of golf – found one.
"There is only a small number of human beings on the planet who have done what Gareth has done," Shulman says.
"We're good investors, but what we lacked is the mindset, experience, drive and unique perch Gareth does.
"I mean, the guy has got it all. What he can do on the pitch, I've seen him do in the boardroom metaphorically. So I have nothing but excitement about [our plans], doing it at the right time and the right place and the right way."
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Gareth Bale legally registered a trademark for his heart-shaped goal celebration under the brand 'Eleven of Hearts'
The plans are not restricted to football, nor just the men's game.
Indeed, the first investment will reportedly be in women's professional sport in the US. Shulman speaks of a "golden age of investment" in that arena given growing TV and in-person audiences.
Getting involved in "emerging leagues" is also mentioned.
"Of course, logic would dictate that we should look at some football clubs because of Gareth - and we will," Shulman adds, saying any deal would involve a stake large enough to be able to influence growth.
"And because of Gareth, we're already in touch with several clubs.
"But we will take our time because the road is filled with people who tried to buy a club, who think that by snapping their fingers or even having somebody who played, you can magically turn it into something unique."
Bale agrees, admitting he is not suddenly going to turn from centre-forward to CEO and attempt to run the club to his own whims, but hoping his experience and perspective can be an attractive asset to the business plan.
"Obviously it's not going to be the likes of Tottenham, or a Chelsea, or a Man Utd or whoever," says Bale. "But we want something to grow."
Is that Cardiff? Or maybe Newport County, the nearby League Two club openly seeking investment?
"We're doing our research and trying to find the right team, and see where that takes us," Bale says, eager to avoid headlines simply about buying Cardiff, as much as that might mean to him.
"I would obviously love to be involved in something in Wales, but if it doesn't make sense, obviously, I can't.
"The heart isn't always right, so sometime you have to listen to the head and do what's right in terms of business."
Bale says patience will be required to find the right fit, but it's clear there is a genuine excitement about what comes next.
Given how he met his ambitions on the field, it could prove worth watching.
