The former Tottenham and Real Madrid star retired at the age of 33 shortly after playing for Wales at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Bale went on to score 106 goals in 258 games for Los Blancos, and won the Champions League a remarkable five times in total but has revealed that his body slowly wore him down as he succumbed to his injuries.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Bale explained that he never thought his injuries would catch up to him before he finally hung up his boots.
"I tore my disc in my back when I was 18 at Tottenham. I played my whole career with that.
"I had a lot of calf injuries which was due to my back. I never came out and said this when I was playing because some people would say 'he's making excuses'.
"It was manageable but over time it caught up with me."
"I never knew when it would come," he said, "and obviously people were like, 'oh, he doesn't look after himself' (but) I would literally make sure my calves and soleus were bulletproof.
"But again, if it misfires, and it goes, there's nothing I could do about it. I'd have an injection in my back to calm it all down."
The Mirror report that three years after hanging up his boots, Bale is looking to expand his commercial ventures by moving into club ownership as links over Cardiff City grow with the former winger.