Retired Welsh International Gareth Bale says Lionel Messi is the best player to have ever won the UEFA Champions League.
Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo were teammates at Real Madrid for five years and they won the Champions League on four different occasions together.
However, when the question was thrown to him at PlayStation House, the former Tottenham man made a short pause before replying “Messi”.
The 33-year-old appears to have ignored his former teammate who holds many records in the competition’s history.
Gareth Bale seemed to have forgotten Ronaldo’s Champions League records when he chose Lionel Messi
Records ranging from most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, highest goalscorer in the competition history and most goals scored in Champions League finals.
Ronaldo is also the player who has made the joint-most appearances in the Champions League final and he has also won the joint-most Champions League titles amongst other notable records.
But it seems, Gareth Bale doesn’t care about all of those in his yardstick of measuring the best player to have won the UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have left the European continent as their careers gradually wind down after many illustrious years.
Cristiano Ronaldo currently plys his trade in the middle east with Al Nassr while Lionel Messi confirmed his decision to join Inter Miami last Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Both players would certainly be talked about for years to come due to the great heights they attained whilst playing in Europe.
For Gareth Bale, the Welshman retired from the round leather game on the 9th of January 2023.
His career in the UEFA Champions League would be fondly remembered for his overhead kick in the 2017/18 Champions League final against Liverpool.
Bale scored 20 goals in the UEFA Champions League representing two clubs namely; Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid.
Gareth Bale’s time at Real Madrid didn’t end in the best of ways as Los Blancos faithfuls felt he wasn’t a dedicated player.
Fans reaction to the statement from Gareth Bale on who the best player in the Champions League is
Many fans on social media gave their reaction on his reponse as they were quick to insinuate that Bale’s response showed that Messi is the greatest footballer of all time.
One joked that what Bale and Messi had in common was that they always bodied the Portuguese megastar.
A fan wrote: “Bale and Messi have only a thing in common they both always bodied Ronaldo.”
Another wrote: “I’ve never seen any Messi current or former teammate calling Ronaldo the best player”.
A third fan posted: “Tears Ronaldo’s own teammates don’t rate him.”
The last time Messi and Ronaldo played against each other was on the 19th of January when Paris Saint Germain played against Riyadh All-Star XI.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the man of the match in that encounter after he scored a brace for his side, but Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint Germain came out 5-4 winners on the day.
We throw the question over to you, who is your best player to have ever won the UEFA Champions League?
