BALE CAN BE TOP DOG AT UNITED, SAYS RIO
GARETH BALE has been urged to join Manchester United, with Rio Ferdinand insisting that Cristiano Ronaldo has held him back at Real Madrid.
Bale’s future at the Bernabeu is in serious doubt and his representatives are set for talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez over the next week.
Former United defender Ferdinand believes Ronaldo’s sustained brilliance over the past five years has inadvertently hindered Bale.
‘Gareth was brought there to eventually take over the mantle as the team’s talisman from Cristiano, but the Portuguese megastar has not played ball with the idea that Real had regarding Bale,’ Ferdinand wrote on Instagram yesterday.
‘He (Ronaldo) has sustained a relentless assault on collecting individual and collective team awards through his phenomenal goalscoring exploits since Bale arrived.
‘Some may say Gareth’s non- combative nature and him not having an ego to rival Ronaldo’s has played its part in holding Gareth back from going on to take the topdog spot at Madrid’s top table. Who knows, but it was never going to be easy.
‘Four Champions League winners’ medals, three Champions League final goals — what more is there to do for him at Real?’
Ferdinand wants to see United manager Jose Mourinho lure 28-year-old Bale back to the Premier League, though obstacles must be overcome for that to happen. The Welshman’s salary is one potential sticking point. His wages, more than £400,000 a week after tax, eclipse even Alexis Sanchez’s at United.
‘It’s up to him to decide what he wants,’ Ferdinand added. ‘Does he want to go somewhere and be the main man, take on the full responsibility of a club who want to win? Or does he want to remain and continue in the role he is in now, as the supporting cast?
‘Personally, I would love to see him come back to the Premier League, preferably with United, and dominate. Write a new chapter as a leader of a club, the go-to guy at all times, the icon. This is what the greats do in all sports, not just football, it elevates them.
‘What he has done is produce magic moments on the big stage — in finals, and played a vital role in this record-breaking squad led by the great Zinedine Zidane.’