Gareth Bale has admitted that he was worried about the prospect of bankruptcy at the end of his football career.
Bale retired from the sport aged 33 two years ago, calling time on a career that made him one of the most successful British stars.
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The former Real Madrid and Tottenham winger won 20 major trophies, including five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles.
His exploits with Wales cemented him as a national icon too, making a record 111 appearances for his country, leading them into the 2022 World Cup and two European Championships.
Bale's ability and achievements led to him becoming the world's highest-paid player at Real Madrid, signing a six-year contract in 2016.
The incredible deal was worth a whopping £150million.
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His reported £600,000 per week wage at Los Blancos would have been sure to have left him in a handsome financial position.
Bale is estimated to have a total net worth of around £120m.
But that didn't help to prevent his fears of a potential bankruptcy when he decided to retire from football...
Bale's bankruptcy fear
The Welsh legend has admitted that he made sure to prepare for life after hanging up his boots so he wouldn't lose his earnings.
“There was one thing that always scared me inside," Bale said during an interview with Front Office Sports. "You read articles about when people finish professional sports, they go bankrupt.
“They don’t know how to manage their money, they don’t know how to do all these things.
Bale was worried about bankruptcy despite his £150m Real contract
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Bale was worried about bankruptcy despite his £150m Real contractCredit: PA:Press Association
“A lot of, I imagine, athletes live a big lavish lifestyle. I try not to do that. I always had one eye on what life would be like after football.
“When I finish, I stop getting the pay cheque. How do people then restructure their lives?
“So I was always trying to diversify from quite early on. I always had this pillar idea where I would try and invest my money in different things.
“If one pillar got chopped down and didn’t work, the whole building is not going to fall down.”
Bale, who is an avid golfer, has appeared as a pundit for TNT Sports since retiring, while he has also been involved in multiple businesses.
He owns Elevens Bar and Par 59 in Cardiff city centre and has invested in a Welsh distillery and Tiger Woods' TGL golf league.
Wales icon Bale is interested in taking over Cardiff as his business ventures grow
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Wales icon Bale is interested in taking over Cardiff as his business ventures growCredit: Getty
Takeover approach
On top of his businesses and investments, Bale has also been looking back to football to keep his cash flow coming in.
He was part of a consortium that had approached his boyhood club Cardiff City to potentially take ownership.
The group involving Bale made an initial enquiry in early June, which was rejected by current owner Vincent Tan.
Bale described getting involved in Cardiff as a 'dream come true' and he was hoping that a deal could be sorted.
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However, nothing has materialised as of yet and things appear to have gone quiet on the takeover front.
But his initial approach is sure to prove that he won't have to have too many concerns about running out of funds soon...