Ex-Real Madrid icon Gareth Bale names former rival as greatest player to have won Champions League
Former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale has named Lionel Messi as the greatest player to win the UEFA Champions League. Messi is a three-time winner of the competition. He was not a part of the final squad in the 2005-06 title match due to injury, so UEFA doesn't attribute that win to Messi.
The Argentine is also the second-highest goalscorer in the history of the competition with 129 goals. Apart from that, the Argentine is one of the greatest players to grace the beautiful game.
Hence, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Bale has chosen Messi as the greatest player to win European football's premier cup competition:
“Best player to have ever won the UEFA Champions League? Messi.”
🗣️ Gareth Bale: “Best player to have ever won the UEFA Champions League? Messi.” https://t.co/yWg8DBcKqG
Bale's choice, though, could come as a bit of a shock, as he shared the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo for five years. Ronaldo is a five time winner of the Champions League and is the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
However, him being teammates with Ronaldo doesn't mean that the player can't voice his personal opinion, which he made it clear by mentioning Messi.
When Gareth Bale scored a stunning UEFA Champions League hat-trick against 2023 finalists Inter Milan
Inter Milan will play Manchester City in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
Gareth Bale once shocked Inter with a stunning performance at the San Siro in the 2010-11 season. It was during his days as a Tottenham player, when he also used to play as a left-back occasionally.
Inter got off to a dream start, as they were 4-0 up in the first half. Javier Zanetti and Dejan Stankovic found the back of the net, while Samuel Eto'o netted a brace. Spurs, though, made a strong comeback in the second half, scoring thrice, with all of them coming from Bale.
It was a stunning performance from the Welshman. Fans still fondly remember when Bale produced this iconic display at the San Siro, as he thrice breached Julio Cesar in near identical fashion.