GOATs deserve statues: The legacy of Jess Fishlock and Gareth Bale

Following Jess Fishlock’s international retirement on 25 October, Iwan Williams looks back at the careers of two Cymru greats, Fishlock and Bale. 

What are the chances that the greatest Welsh female and male players of all time, the legends of Welsh football, Jess Fishlock and Gareth Bale, were born in Cardiff within two and a half years of each other?

Jess was born on 14 January 1987, Gareth on 16 July 1989. They would go on to have stellar careers, achieve incredible things in the game, break records and lead Cymru to major international tournaments. The Greatest Of All Time i.e. the GOATs.

And that’s not to discredit the immense contribution of others. On the women’s side, Jayne Ludlow, Helen Ward and Sophie Ingle for example. On the men’s side, Billy Meredith, John Charles, Neville Southall and Ian Rush for example. But for me, in terms of talent, achievements, leadership and contribution, not to mention record caps and goals, no one comes close to Fishlock and Bale.

Physically, Jess and Gareth were very different players. Diminutive Jess: that Messiesque low centre of gravity, the phenomenal talent to keep the ball in tight areas (she could find space in a phonebox), to pick a perfect pass (that pass for Hannah Cain’s Euros goal against England the perfect example), to create chances and demonstrate a brilliant range of finishing in front of goal. Powerful Gareth: an elite athlete’s physique (a Ronaldoesque specimen), tall, strong with lightning pace, an incredible left foot and absolutely deadly in front of goal be it free kicks, headers or shooting of all kind. How he ghosted past elite professional players, making them look like pub players.

Similarities

There are however a number of similarities between them: both made their senior Cymru debuts very close to each other. Jess won her first cap in Stighag/Kloten, Switzerland in March 2006, a 3-2 defeat to the Swiss. Gareth won his first cap in Graz, Austria in May 2006, a 2-1 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Little did we know then that two extraordinary international careers had begun, leading to Jess winning 166 caps and scoring 48 goals, and Gareth winning 111 caps and scoring 41 goals.

Both won the UEFA Champions League: Jess with FFC Frankfurt in 2014/15 and Olympique Lyonnais in 2018/19, and Gareth with Real Madrid in 2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2021/22. Both spent the majority of their club careers with European and US clubs: Having also played for Cardiff City, Bristol Academy, Glasgow City and Reading, Jess played for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, FFC Frankfurt in Germany, Olympique Lyonnais in France as well as an association with Seattle Reign (224 games and 43 goals) which began in 2013 and also spells with Melbourne Victory and City in Australia.

Gareth began his career with Southampton and moved to Tottenham before representing Real Madrid between 2013 and 2022 (258 games and 106 goals), ending his club career with a loan period back with Tottenham and thirteen games for Los Angeles FC. Both won league titles: Jess in the Netherlands, Australia, France, Germany, Scotland and US, and Gareth in Spain. At individual level, Jess won the NWSL Most Valuable Player in 2021, and Gareth won the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2012/13. Interestingly, Jess never won the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year, whilst Gareth only won it once in 2010.

And then there are the Cymru careers. How lucky were we to have two world class players from Cardiff who absolutely loved playing for their country? “The Dragon on my shirt, that’s all I need” was Gareth’s motivation and no doubt it resonated with Jess as well. As captains and as teammates, the pride in representing that shirt, that crest and that flag. If you ever wondered what Gwenllian (daughter of Gruffydd), the 12^th century warrior princess, and Owain Glyndŵr, the 15^th century Welsh leader, would be like playing football then look no further than Jess and Gareth. Bottling centuries of Welsh pride and defiance, beneath Jess and Gareth – in Rhys Ifans’ electric words – “was our everything”. Try telling them that it was a waste of time and effort to play for “little old Wales”.

Prime condition 

Playing for Cymru and answering the call meant absolutely everything to them. It explains why Jess would keep doing 20 hour round trips from Seattle to London, then onwards to any destination that was required. It explains why Gareth kept himself in prime condition despite numerous injuries over the years. The belief to keep turning up despite poor results and bleak qualifying campaigns. A mind-blowing statistic is that Jess played in 67% of all Cymru women’s games since 1993. In other words, between March 2006 and October 2025 she only missed 28 Cymru games. Cymru teammate Mared Griffiths wasn’t even born when Jess made her debut. When you factor in her worldwide club commitments, age and injuries (she suffered a serious ACL injury in 2019), Jess’ determination and perseverance to win 166 caps, a Cymru women’s record, is something else.

And whereas Gareth had access to the best training facilities, coaching resources and stadia from the start, Jess experienced an additional barrier in the first few years of her Cymru career, when investment in and respect for the women’s team was severely lacking. When things got dark and ugly for Gareth in Madrid, playing for Cymru and “being with the boys” was the perfect escape. “Wales Golf Madrid” indeed. To win 111 caps, a Cymru men’s record, was an incredible achievement.

Then there are the numerous goals, assists and match winning moments. Both scored their first Cymru goals in 2006: Jess against Israel in March, Gareth against Slovakia in October. Both scored hattricks twice for Cymru: Jess against Türkiye and Montenegro in 2014, Gareth against China in 2018 and Belarus in 2021. Time after time, we looked to Jess to win us games or avoid defeat, and the same with Gareth i.e. a ‘Bale out’. With plenty to choose from, Jess’ goals against Northern Ireland in 2017, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2022, Ukraine in 2024 and Italy in 2025 are well worth watching.

Hard graft and sacrifice

Ahead of her 150^th cap in April 2024, I wrote that “Both deserve to feature in finals tournaments. Gareth managed to achieve this before calling an end to his career. Hopefully Jess can do likewise”. Jess gave it absolutely everything in the play-off games against Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland to qualify for Euro 2025. It was the culmination of years of hard graft and sacrifice. The justification to keep going after the heartbreaking World Cup playoff defeat to Switzerland in 2022. To see her in a finals tournament against the Netherlands in Lucerne on 5^thJuly was a special moment, and that historic goal against France in St Gallen on 9^th July was a moment for Jess, her teammates, family and supporters to treasure forever.

It echoed the achievements of Gareth in previous campaigns. At the peak of his powers in 2014-16, Gareth took us to Euro 2016 in an unforgettable qualifying campaign, and dazzled us with his talent at the tournament in France. His contribution was immense once again as Cymru qualified for Euro 2020. And despite increasing issues with injuries, Gareth was absolutely determined to send Cymru to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. As I wrote previously, a supporters ‘Top ten Cymru goals’ could easily be a Bale compilation: “The significance and importance of his free kicks against Andorra, Slovakia, Austria and Ukraine. The 2012 screamer against Scotland in the Cardiff rain. The 2015 bullet header against Cyprus in Nicosia. The 2022 World Cup penalty against the US in Doha. For giving us fans the best ever half-time celebrations against England in Lens in Euro 2016. And the incredible goal against Iceland in Cardiff in 2014 which was arguably better than his iconic Real Madrid goal v Barcelona.”

Their contribution off the pitch has been immense. Both unapologetic in sharing their Welshness with the world. When they won trophies, they often celebrated with our flag. You can travel to most places around the world, mention ‘Gareth Bale’ and they would reply ‘Yes, Wales’. The same with Jess, especially in the US where the women’s game is on another level. Promoting and raising awareness of Cymru in a way that the Welsh Government’s marketing department could only dream of. And as a role model for the LGBTQ+ community, Jess’ actions and words give hope, belief and confidence to so many in football and beyond.

Statues

So, a plea to the Football Association of Wales (150 years old in 2026), Cardiff City Council and Welsh Government: have a conversation and start building the statues for Jess and Gareth in Cardiff. The exact location – Llanrhymni/Llanrhumney for Jess, Yr Eglwys Newydd/Whitchurch for Gareth, both at the Cardiff City Stadium, city centre or bay – to be determined. We already have sporting statues in Cardiff for Gareth Edwards, Fred Keenor, Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan, Gus Risman, Jim Driscoll etc. And to show our gratitude and respect for our football legends, both female and male, it’s the very least we can do. Both already have murals in Cardiff (including the new ‘Diolch Jess’ five a side pitch mural in Splott) but statues send out a clear message to the nation and the world: This is how we acknowledge our GOATs in Cymru. And beyond Lily Parr, there are very few statues for female footballers at present.

With their international careers behind them, we can only look back and be grateful that we were around to see Fishlock and Bale play. We can tell our children and grandchildren of their goals, their games and how they made an entire nation believe. How they brought smiles to people’s faces, young and old. How they inspired us and showed us that we can compete with anyone. How children in this generation and those to come will kick a ball and dream of being the next ‘10 Fishlock’ or ‘11 Bale’. That’s some legacy.

Like the men’s team with Gareth, the women’s team will have to adapt to life without Jess. With the clock on 91 minutes, Jess leaving the field in a Cymru shirt for the final time in the Australia friendly was a special and emotional moment, and the outpouring of love, respect and gratitude from players, staff and supporters said it all.

‘Fishlock’s on Fire’ and ‘Viva Gareth Bale’ – let us keep singing their songs. The Manics sang “When Gareth Bale plays, we can beat any side”. So it was with Jess too. Will we see others like them? We shall see. The bar is set incredibly high. After giving everything to the cause, they owe us nothing. A collective record of 277 caps and 89 goals. Not bad for two modest and grounded Cardiff kids. Diolch Jess. Diolch Gareth.