(NYTIMES) - Ever since Gareth Bale helped ensure that Wales would play in the World Cup for the first time since 1958, there has been only one question on the minds of his countrymen: For which club would he sign, and play, to prepare for the tournament?
The answer arrived on Saturday (June 25): After running out his contract with Real Madrid and flirting with a return to his home town, the 32-year-old has agreed to join Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) in Major League Soccer (MLS).
The move will offer him regular playing time, plenty of sunshine and as many as five consecutive months of matches to sharpen his form before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar in late November.
LAFC teased an international signing on its social media accounts on Saturday, and an MLS official familiar with Bale's decision to join the league confirmed that an official announcement of his signing was imminent, perhaps as soon as Sunday.
Hours later, the Welshman broke the news in his own post on Twitter: "See you soon, Los Angeles," he wrote above a short video in which he was wearing his new LAFC jersey.
With his Real contract expiring this summer, Bale announced his intent to leave Spain and has been available to any team as a free transfer. A five-time Champions League winner with Madrid, who had acquired him in 2013 from Tottenham for what was then a world-record fee of €100 million (S$146.3 million at the current rate), he had become an afterthought at the club in recent years, playing rarely and feuding openly with the team and its fans all while rejecting any effort to move on.
Bale had flirted with a move to second-tier Cardiff City in his home town in recent weeks before choosing MLS, and Los Angeles, when it came time to put pen to paper.
While a return to Wales would have been popular and symbolic - Bale was born in Cardiff - his choice of Los Angeles may better suit his World Cup preparations. MLS has moved its schedule forward this season to accommodate the World Cup, ensuring Bale a steady diet of games from July to October, and then either a play-off push or a brief break before the World Cup.
LAFC currently lead the Western Conference standings, and they entered Saturday with the league's best record. Adding Bale and veteran Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini - whose introduction is set for next week - over the next month to a team who already feature Mexican star Carlos Vela could make LAFC an MLS Cup favourite this fall.
Once his signing with MLS becomes official, Bale could be positioned to make his debut for his new team against the cross-town rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on July 8. That derby, known as El Tráfico in a wink at the city's perpetual headache, has been home to major moments in the past: In 2018, Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic entered the game, his first in MLS, and scored one of the most famous goals in league history.
Bale's main focus, though, will be the World Cup. Wales open the tournament on its first day, Nov 21. Their opponent that day in Group B, which also includes England and Iran? The United States.
