Real Madrid

Gareth Bale: 'No rift with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 25 May 2016

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale reiterates that there is no rift with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, despite being publicly criticised by the Portuguese in the past.

Gareth Bale has once more moved to play down claims of a falling-out with Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting that he has nothing but respect for his Real Madrid teammate.

There was speculation of a rift between the Los Blancos pair last year after Ronaldo publicly criticised the Welshman for being too selfish at times.

Ronaldo looked to backtrack when insisting that their partnership is now blossoming, while Bale has also now claimed that there are no issues between the two Bernabeu superstars.

Speaking to BT Sport, he said: "It's fine. All the papers and the media try to create a lot of problems, but we've never had a problem in the dressing room or on the pitch. I think you know yourself he's an emotional player on the pitch, he can throw his arms up now and then but that's how he is.

"He works hard for the teams and scores goals which is important but as I said we've never had a problem. We get on really well. We speak. He speaks English which is good for me. I'm enjoying playing together. You can see he's dedicated, always in the gym working hard and stuff like that.

"I think he's a bit more laid back than he was at United. He tends to make quite a few jokes and messes around as well which is good for the team spirit. He's been great since I've been here and hopefully we can win more trophies now with him here."

Bale is expected to be among the starters for Real next weekend when they face city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final, searching for an 11th European Cup success in the San Siro showdown.