5 famous footballers who chose not to play for strong international teams
We have seen countless number of times when footballers opted to play for relatively stronger international teams to increase their chances of winning an international trophy (Eg: Miroslav Klose, Diego Costa etc).
But once in a while, out of sheer patriotism, you could say, some footballers have opted to play for the country that they were born in despite having the chance to play for a country where they had a better chance to win a major honour.
Here we present to you 5 such famous footballers who opted to play for their nation of birth ahead of another more successful international team:
#1 Gareth Bale
The Real Madrid star is currently one of the best players in the world and played a pivotal role in Wales’ dream run to the semi-final of Euro 2016. However, the Welshman had the option to play for the England national team through his grandmother but opted against it.
Not only did Bale play a key role in the Dragons’ run to the semi-final, he was instrumental in the qualifying also as his goals paved the way for the Dragons to qualify for their first ever major finals since the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Ironically, England and Wales were drawn together in the same group at Euro 2016 with the Three Lions recording a 2-1 win over their neighbors in their group stage clash – Bale scored the only goal for his side. Despite the loss, Wales went on to qualify as group leaders ahead of England – who finished runners-up.
Till date, Bale has managed to net 24 times for his national team and is the second highest scorer in their history, only behind Ian Rush who had managed to score 28 goals.
"It is an honour to play for Wales...Nobody ever got in touch with me personally from England, only through my agent." ~ Gareth Bale