Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has revealed that compatriot Ryan Giggs is the greatest player he has ever played with, and not teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Given that Bale has won two Champions Leagues playing alongside Ronaldo, given that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 371 goals for Real Madrid and given that Ronaldo is generally considered to be one of the finest footballers of all time, you would think Ronaldo would have the title of ‘Bale’s Greatest Team Mate’ sewn up. Apparently not.
Bale has earned 65 caps for his country since making his debut back in 2006, but managed just one year alongside Giggs after the latter retired from the international scene in 2007.
However, during that year they lined up alongside each other on two occasions, including one game where they both scored in the same match nearly a decade ago.
Bale has since gone on to achieve unprecedented success with Real Madrid – he was once the world’s most expensive player – and in turn played alongside some of the finest.
One of those special players Bale has shared a pitch with is Ronaldo, who is regarded as possibly one of the best players of all time.
However, Bale believes that playing alongside Manchester United icon Giggs was a far bigger privilege.
“For me the greatest player is Ryan Giggs. He was my hero growing up and is a legend in world football. It also helps he’s a fellow Welshman,” Bale said during a Q&A session with Foot Locker.
Giggs retired from the game in 2014 after nearly a 1000 appearances across all competitions and 168 goals in the process.
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