Gareth Bale constantly changes his opinion about Ronaldo when answering the debate about who is the GOAT.
Gareth Bale has finally picked a side in the ongoing debate over whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is the greatest player in football history (GOAT). Bale ended his illustrious career last year after winning five Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
The Welshman is currently enjoying life away from football as he takes up a new sport , golf. Bale himself saw how good Ronaldo was in his prime when they played together at Real Madrid, while Bale and Ronaldo also faced off against Lionel Messi on numerous occasions when the Argentine was at Barcelona.
Gareth Bale has scored 106 goals in 258 games for Real Madrid but still cannot catch up with Ronaldo, who has scored 450 goals in 438 games for the Spanish royal team.
Bale constantly changes his opinion about Ronaldo , sometimes thinking Ronaldo is better, other times thinking Messi is better. PHOTO: GETTY
Bale spent five years playing alongside Ronaldo before CR7 moved to Juventus in 2018 and that has given him a unique insight into the 39-year-old Portuguese superstar. That’s why Bale chose Ronaldo when first asked who the greatest player of all time was, but has since changed his mind about Ronaldo.
When Bale was playing for Real Madrid, he shared, “For me personally, I would say Ronaldo. He has everything. He is strong, he is quick, he can head the ball, he can shoot. Obviously you can’t say anything bad about Lionel Messi, but for the complete footballer, I would say Cristiano Ronaldo.”
However, that stance seemed to waver before last year’s Champions League final when Gareth Bale was asked who the best player to have won the Champions League was. He replied: “Er, Lionel Messi.” The Inter Miami striker has four Champions League titles, one fewer than Ronaldo, who won one with Manchester United before joining Real Madrid.
Bale has now returned to the “Ronaldo thing” by taking on an anonymous ranking challenge in a YouTube video . The former Wales international was asked to pick his top five strikers of all time and after some deliberation, he picked himself fifth, Harry Kane fourth, Brazilian Ronaldo third, Messi second and Ronaldo first.
Ronaldo is currently in the final stages of his career at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo has no doubt that he is among the best players in football history. Cristiano Ronaldo said, “I am sure that I am in the history of football because of what I have done and what I continue to do, I am one of the best players in history.
For me, I’m number one in history, but for some fans, if number one is someone else and I’m number two, it doesn’t matter. I know I’m in football history as one of the greatest players ever.”
The GOAT debate between Messi and Ronaldo never ends. PHOTO: GETTY
Ballon d’ Or voters clearly disagree, having awarded eight Ballon d’Ors to Lionel Messi and just five to Cristiano Ronaldo. This season, neither Ronaldo nor Messi have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
