The next item on our agenda is Gareth Bale. I'm sure that Gareth Bale is blissfully unaware that he's about to be the subject of not one but three 90-second statements. And I doubt that in my time as Llywydd any other person, living or dead, will merit a trio of statements. Gareth Bale has been an exceptional footballer, an exceptional leader. He has allowed us all as Welsh people to walk just that little bit taller, and we owe it to him to continue to walk tall.

So, thank you to Gareth Bale.

And I'll call now on three Members to pay a tribute to our national treasure, Gareth Bale. And we'll start with Jack Sargeant.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. And as you have said, this week, we heard the news that Cymru's men's record goal scorer, Gareth Bale, is retiring from professional pêl-droed. Llywydd, statistics alone do not paint the full picture of the joy that Bale brought us all. Our proud nation will be forever grateful to have shared in his immense talent. Gareth's achievements are simply phenomenal: five Champions Leagues at club level—incredible. But, Llywydd, as he himself said, it is the dragon on his shirt that was all he really needed. I'm sure Members will have seen the press conference from Rob Page this week, where he paid tribute to Gareth, and I want to repeat what he said:

'I liken Gareth Bale to how Gary Speed was when he was captain. Everyone is equal, and he drove that environment.'

Well, Llywydd, as a young boy watching Gary Speed, he was certainly my idol as a Welsh and Newcastle United player, and I can wholeheartedly agree with Rob Page's assessment of Bale's captaincy. I'm sure I speak on behalf of this Senedd when I say,

thanks for everything, Gareth Bale.

And finally, Llywydd, viva Gareth Bale.

When Gareth Bale made his first appearance for his country, as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago back in 2006, we all knew, didn't we, as a nation, that we had a special talent on our hands, but nobody, I think, could have foreseen how exceptional his contribution and his footballing career would be: breaking the world record transfer fee, of course, when he moved to Real Madrid, and there, he won the Champions League five times; he won the UEFA Super Cup three times; the club world cup three times; he won La Liga three times; he won the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa, the MLS Cup, of course, in the United States last year; he won 111 caps for his country—the most in the history of Welsh men's football—he scored 41 goals for his country—again, the most in the history of Welsh men's football—he twice took Wales to the finals of the European Championships, reaching the semi-finals in 2016; and, most recently, of course, the holy grail for a number of us as Welsh football supporters, he led his country, as a captain, to compete in the world cup. He is a magnificent ambassador for Wales, and seeing one of the 'Galácticos' enthusiastically singing 'Yma o Hyd' with Dafydd Iwan was a watershed moment for the Welsh language, and underlined the fact that the Welsh language belongs to everyone. There are no words that can do justice to the contribution made by this modest man who said that the red dragon on his shirt was the only thing that he needed.

Diolch, Gareth, not only for making us believe, but for proving that we can. Diolch, hefyd, not only for being Welsh, but for taking Cymru with you everywhere around the world. Diolch as well for saying that you had a bad back. Viva Gareth Bale.

We've been blessed, I think, in Wales with a long line of wonderful footballers, from Billy Meredith to John Charles, Mark Hughes, Ian Rush and Aaron Ramsey, to name but a few. I think, as a small nation, we've always punched above our weight with the talent that we've produced on the football field. Whilst I never saw that 1958 team play, nor do I remember the myriad of teams that came oh so close in the last century, I do remember vividly what Welsh football's last era was like, because I think we'll always look back at the first decade of this century as pre Bale. We had talented teams, great individuals and some near misses, but we never had a Bale.

Most of us can only dream of having the same skill in this Chamber as Gareth Bale possessed on a football field. His list of achievements is really quite incredible: Southampton debut at 16; a two-time Professional Footballers' Association players' player of the year; held the world record transfer fee; three La Liga titles; Copa del Rey; most Wales caps and goals for the men's team; and five—yes, five—UEFA Champions League trophies. Liverpool fans will remember that last one in particular, where Bale came off the bench in Kyiv against Liverpool and turned the game on its head with a magnificent goal and a man-of-the-match performance to near single-handedly win football's biggest trophy, outshining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah on the world's biggest stage.

But it was with Wales where you could tell Bale was at his best. There's a reason he held that banner that said, 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.' He was instrumental in probably the greatest summer of my life in 2016 as we overachieved beyond all our wildest dreams to take us to the Euro semi-final, and then repeated the heroics last year by taking us to our first world cup since 1958. He will be responsible for the highs that we as Wales football fans would never have thought possible pre Bale, and he's given us our confidence back, both on the football field and as a nation. I know I'm biased, but I think he's Wales's greatest ever player. There'll never be another Bale, but I'll be forever grateful we had this one. Diolch, Gareth.

Diolch yn fawr, Gareth Bale, and we'll look forward to what comes next for you. We'll be watching you and you'll continue to be our national treasure. Yma o hyd, I'm sure.