Zinedine Zidane: 'Gareth Bale not far off Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's level'

Zinedine Zidane has claimed that Gareth Bale is not far behind the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the best two players on the planet, and the legendary Zidane thinks that the Tottenham Hotspur winger is getting closer to the standard set by the Liga pair.

"The problem is this year the player who has impressed me most is not actually playing in the Champions League," Zidane is quoted as saying in The Mirror.

"He is playing in 'the other cup' (Europa League), and that is Bale. He's perhaps not quite at the level of the other two, but he's different. So personally I don't think he's far off.

"You can't compare him. He's unique, he makes things look easy, his pace is frightening. His acceleration is unbelievable because of his ability to go through the gears in very little space. Plus he is very good technically, which is also very important. We must not forget that he plays football very well."

Bale will be part of the Spurs squad to play Swiss champions Basel in the Europa League on Thursday.