Gareth Bale Blasted over Agent's Cristiano Ronaldo Comparison by AS Columnist

Comments from Gareth Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, comparing the Welshman to Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo have provoked an angry response from press in the Spanish capital.

As reported by Stuart James of the Guardian, Barnett claimed the two Los Blancos men are “complete opposites,” suggesting Bale only wants to be “the best footballer,” not “the best model in the world or the best underwear seller.” He also claimed Bale would be the best player on the planet in the next two years.

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They’re suggestions that haven’t gone down well in the local press, particularly in the case of AS' Tomas Roncero, per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror: “To say anything about Cristiano is inadmissible. It demonstrates that Bale has an infantile jealousy towards the Portuguese. It's absurd to even compare him to [Ronaldo]. A quarter of Cristiano is better than Bale.”

Although Roncero cited a “jealousy” from the Welshman, according to Barnett there is no angst between the pair, even though he suggests they aren’t the best of friends.

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As pointed out by Alex Shaw of ESPN, if anything, it’s Barnett who doesn’t come across particularly well in the interview, not Bale:

At Real Madrid, it’s always going to be the case that attacking players will fulfil a supplementary role to Ronaldo, something that has been the case in Bale’s two full seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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There’s going to have to be a shift at some point, though. New manager Rafael Benitez looks as though he’s started this process by giving Bale more responsibility in a central role, and before he picked up an injury he was thriving in this position.

It makes the aforementioned claims from Roncero seem a little over the top. However, Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC suggests some other points he makes in the piece may be a lot more pertinent:

Both Ronaldo and Bale have been linked with a move away from Real recently, per Simon Mullock of the Mirror. However, selling either is not something the club’s hierarchy is likely to entertain any time soon. After all, even though they aren’t the best of pals, the duo do dovetail well, giving Los Blancos a devastating attacking outlet.

As OptaJose noted last season, despite playing just two full campaigns together at the Santiago Bernabeu, Bale is one of the top providers of goals to Ronaldo:

While Ronaldo is an emotive player who can let his frustrations with team-mates show, there’s an obvious professional relationship with Bale. However, it will be intriguing to see how each player handles what’s likely to be a changing dynamic in the years to come, with Ronaldo getting closer and closer to the twilight of his career.

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After splashing out a world record transfer fee to sign him in 2013, there’s no doubt Los Blancos will have big hopes for Bale, and he’s the player most likely to replace the iconic Portuguese. When he’s tasked with taking on that particular mantle in full is when we’ll get to see whether the Welshman is a worthy suitor or, as Roncero states, only a quarter as good.