Bale admits Cristiano inspiration

Posted Monday, November 10, 2014 by Marca.com

Gareth Bale lavished praise on Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview with the BBC, admitting that the Portuguese star is his role model in his bid to become the world's top player. The Welshman also argued that CR7 is in a league of his own right now.

"I think Cristiano has been amazing this season. The amount of goals he's scored, he won the Champions League with us, and he's been playing fantastic. I can't see many people past him [for the Ballon d'Or] but I'm looking forward to seeing who wins and good luck to everybody", Bale stated.

The former Tottenham man acknowledged that the chance to play alongside the likes of Ronaldo was a key factor in his decision to move to the Bernabéu. 'It's another reason why I came to Madrid - to learn from the best players. Seeing him [Ronaldo] in training every day, how concentrated he is on every aspect of his game and on the pitch, it gives me that kind of platform to aim for and keep improving, and hopefully one day I can get there".

Bale is well aware that he has a long way to go if he is to fulfil his ambition of rising to the very top and winning the Ballon d'Or, though he is on the 23-man shortlist for this year's award. "At the moment Ronaldo's on another level to everyone else. If you don't want to be the world's best you probably shouldn't be playing football", he observed.