Gareth Bale: Ex-Wales and Real Madrid forward has defibrillator at home
- Published
Gareth Bale retired from football in January 2023
Former Wales and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale says he has installed a defibrillator at his home as well as buying one for his family members.
Bale is to have life-saving training as part of a campaign being run by European football governing body Uefa.
The ex-Wales captain, 34, has already taken steps to try to cope with the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
"A cardiac arrest can happen anywhere - in a stadium, at work but most often at home," Bale said.
"I've installed an automatic external defibrillator (AED) in my home and bought one for every member of my family.
"Sometimes I take my AED to the golf course. You never know what might happen."
Uefa's 'Get Trained, Save Lives' campaign aims to teach football fans basic cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, with Bale, Erling Haaland and Thierry Henry among the star names giving their support.
There have been a number of recent cases of footballers suffering with heart problems.
Wales defender Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Luton Town's Premier League game at Bournemouth in December.
He had previously collapsed during the Championship play-off final win against Coventry last May.
Manchester United's Christian Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after he collapsed playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.
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