IS GARETH BALE THE GREATEST FOOTBALLER IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?
Bale dramatically closes gap on Messi and Ronaldo when it comes to world’s finest... and could already be number one
GARETH BALE versus Joe Allen. Who was the Wales man of the match?
So the debate went amongst fans following the 4-0 World Cup thumping of Moldova.
Absolutely no contest, in my eyes. Little Joe played well, but these are the facts.
With the game locked at stalemate, Bale turned matters on their head with a true world class, swerving cross which gave the goalkeeper no chance and landed straight on Sam Vokes’ head. No other player on the pitch could have produced that moment of magic.
Then he smashed a 35-yard freekick which the keeper tipped aside to earn the corner from which Allen scored. No other player on the pitch would have attempted that.
Bale scored the third himself. No other player on the pitch would have galloped away so quickly and made the finish look so ridiculously easy.
Then he won the penalty and calmly slotted home for Wales’ fourth.
Bale’s exploits directly influenced and won the game for Wales. Just what wasn’t man-of-the-match about that?
This, from a player supposedly not even at his best that night... something that further rams home the gigantic impact he has on this Wales team.
The question shouldn’t be whether Bale or Allen was better, more whether Bale is the greatest footballer in the world right at this moment in time.
That’s one heck of a statement, considering he has always been a distant third – at best – behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
No disgrace in that, by the way. Those two have indelibly stamped their mark as genuine legends of the game, whatever era you wish to talk about.
The theory was always that when Messi and Ronaldo were past their sell by date, it would become a straight battle between Bale and brilliant Brazilian Neymar for title of finest player on the planet.
Messi isn’t the force he was, but remains utterly brilliant. Ronaldo can’t race past players at will any more, although his presence and goal threat did help Portugal win Euro 2016.
However, few can doubt that the gap has closed dramatically as a result of Bale’s superlative performances for club and country over the course of the past 12 months.
You can go anywhere in the world and get a different 1-2-3-4 pecking order of opinion when it comes to who is the best out of the world’s current Fab Four.
In Portugal and Madrid, the answer would probably still be Ronaldo, although the clamour for Bale is getting louder out in Spain. In Wales, Bale would be ranked number one by many. In Argentina and Barcelona Messi, in Brazil Neymar.
It’s incredibly difficult to split the quartet, given they each possess differing strengths.
But as a complete football package – pace, power, goals, skill, dribbling, passing, tackling and heading ability – you can begin to make a truly compelling case for Bale in the autumn of 2016.
He’s certainly the quickest of the four, the most powerful, best tackler and just as good as Ronaldo when it comes to heading.
As for goals and influence upon matches, this is where Bale has dramatically closed the gap on his world class peers.
Before this weekend’s round of La Liga fixtures, Bale had bagged 19 goals in his previous 24 Real Madrid performances.
Messi managed the same tally for Barcelona, Neymar just 11 for the Nou Camp giants, with Ronaldo leading the way on 26 goals for Real Madrid over that period.
But it is what has happened at international level that gives Bale an edge.
His influence on Wales is even greater than that of Ronaldo with Portugal, Messi for Argentina and Neymar, despite his own blistering goal tally for Brazil.
Bale hasn’t bagged anywhere near the number of international goals as his rivals. Then again, he isn’t surrounded by as many world class team-mates to help out – despite Wales’ stunning march to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
These are the facts. Ronaldo has struck 61 goals in 133 Portuguese appearances, Messi 56 in 114 games for Argentina, Neymar 48 in 72 caps for Brazil.
By contrast, Bale has managed a ‘mere’ 24 Wales goals in 62 matches for his country. But no fewer than 21 of those have come in his last 32 internationals, a staggering goal ratio that even Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar cannot match for their respective countries. Bale was directly responsible - through either scoring or creating – for 82 per cent of Wales’ goals in qualifying for France this summer, way in excess of any other player in Europe. Zlatan Ibrahimovich was next on 58 per cent for Sweden. In the finals, Bale kept up the momentum by bagging three goals in Wales’ group games and set up the winner via an own goal versus Northern Ireland. Somehow the near impossible happened as two Wales matches went by against Belgium and Portugal without Bale finding the net. But he was back to his most influential best again by having a hand in every one of those goals against Moldova. It seems a matter of when, not if, he smashes Ian Rush’s Wales scoring record of 28 during this World Cup qualifying campaign.
You can take your pick when it comes to the world’s greatest. Messi and Ronaldo aren’t quite what they were, but we are talking about the most lofty of footballing heights there.
Neymar will look to fire Barca again upon his return from Brazilian Olympic and World Cup duty.
But if you were a manager looking to sign any player in the world for the next few years, surely 27-year-old Bale would represent the greatest value for money.
He needs a massive whole season for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Uefa Champions League to properly elevate himself up to number one, given we can take his Wales form as guaranteed.
Do the former, and perhaps in a few months time the world will indeed be talking of Gareth Bale as the greatest footballer on the planet.
Bale may not quite be there just yet, but he’s certainly closing the gap. And fast.
He’s certainly the quickest of the four, the most powerful and best tackler... Paul Abbandonato on how Bale shapes up