Gareth Bale discussed the robotic nature of being a professional football player in an upcoming documentary, saying that he understands why players look forward to retiring so they can return to a normal life.

"Yes, definitely [you get your life back] because as a professional athlete - especially in a team environment - you don't get to choose your schedule, maybe like a golf or a tennis player. So we're kind of just robots. We're told where to be, when to be there, what time we have to eat, what time we have to go to the coach. It's kind of like you lose your life in a way. You're kind of just told what to do," said Bale.

Bale added that being a professional athlete is worth it in the end.

"You don't get to choose what you want to do, when you want to do it. So yeah, I can completely understand why [they would say] that. But on another point, I think a career in football is so short that sometimes you just have to sacrifice it."