AFTER Wales heroics to reach a first World Cup since 1958 last night, Gareth Bale will now be looking for another club to see him through to at least winter.

The 32-year-old five-time Champions League winner has left Real Madrid after nine years in the Spanish capital.

Cardiff-born former Saints product, Bale, insisted he has “loads” of offers for new suitors, admitting he is putting plans to retire on hold “maybe for a little bit!”

He could sign new terms with a Premier League, La Liga, Championship or even MLS side to keep his fitness up until the trip to Qatar in November.

"It means everything, what dreams are made of, we’ve been working towards it since I first came in here," Bale told Sky Sports after the match.

"The result is the greatest in Welsh football history. We’re going to a World Cup! It’s difficult to put it into words.

"It’s what we’ve been working all our careers for and to do this for the fans, the nation, ourselves and our families is an incredible achievement, and it will be something that we will be forever proud of.

"It means everything. It is the last piece of the jigsaw that we all wanted and we’re going to celebrate well tonight."

And although a most unlikely return, Saints are credited with an outside shot of bringing their most successful export back to St Mary’s.

Daily Echo: Gareth Bale is a serial winner (Pic: PA)Gareth Bale is a serial winner (Pic: PA)

Saints, under the stewardship of owners Sport Republic and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, are priced at 20/1 to sign Bale this summer by Sky Bet.

It ranks them as joint-seventh favourite, with hometown Cardiff City deemed as most likely with odds as short as 1/3.

Tottenham Hotspur – where he spent most of the 2020-21 season on loan, scoring an incredible 11 goals in just 20 Premier League appearances – are priced at 6/1.

Any MLS club follows at 7/1, with Newcastle (12/1), Nottingham Forest (16/1) and Rangers (18/1) all given more of a chance by the bookies.

Spanish giants and Madrid rivals – Atletico – are given the same odds as Saints, but both deemed unlikely for differing reasons.

The likes of Manchester United, AC Milan, Barcelona and Celtic make up the list as the odds widen.

Although Bale played just 290 minutes for Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid this campaign, the forward showed the impact he can have on the international stage.

He scored twice in a 2-1 win over Austria in the World Cup qualification play-off semi-final in March, before his free-kick was headed in by Andriy Yarmolenko for a solitary own-goal to defeat Ukraine in the final.

Daily Echo: Gareth Bale led the Wales celebrations in Cardiff (Pic: PA)Gareth Bale led the Wales celebrations in Cardiff (Pic: PA)

Bale joined the academy system at Saints as a schoolboy and recently credited the identity this gave him.

He made a multi-million pound move to Tottenham in 2007, after just 45 games for the senior team.

Saints are expected to continue pursuing their current model, and are unlikely to break their wage structure for a short-term hit.

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