Gareth Bale says training and playing alongside Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo fuels his ambition to become the world’s best player.
Bale, 25, joined Real in a world-record £85.3m deal in 2013 and won the Champions League in his first season.
Speaking to BBC’s Football Focus, the Wales international said Ronaldo was the world’s best player and gave him a “platform to aim for”.
“I’m improving all the time and trying to get to the level Cristiano’s at.”
Ronaldo, who along with Bale has been nominated for the 2014 Ballon d’Or award , has already registered 22 goals in just 16 games in all competitions this season.
| Bale & Ronaldo: Head-to-head | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bale | Ronaldo | |
| 25 | Age | 29 |
| 305 | Career appearances (all clubs) | 585 |
| 87 | Career goals (all clubs) | 397 |
| 47 | International appearances | 116 |
| 14 | International goals | 51 |
| Champions League (1), Copa del Rey (1) | Club honours (selected) | Champions League (2), English Premier League (3), FA Cup (1), La Liga (1), Copa del Rey (2) |
| Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur | Previous clubs | Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United |
In total the 29-year-old Portugal international has scored 194 league goals in 174 appearances for Real, while netting 55 times in 55 Champions League matches for the current holders.
“The amount of goals he scores and what he does for the team is incredible,” added Bale, who amassed 22 goals in his debut season at the Bernabeu.
“Nobody is living up to that at. At the moment he’s on another level to everyone else.
“By seeing him in training and in games it gives me that kind of platform to aim for and keep improving, and hopefully one day I can get there.
“If you don’t want to be the world’s best you probably shouldn’t be playing football.”
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Source: BBC Sport