Michael Laudrup: 'Gareth Bale is not as good as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi'

Swansea City boss Michael Laudrup has claimed that Gareth Bale is not as good as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

The Welshman is expected to make his switch to Real Madrid in the near future.

However, Laudrup believes that Messi and Ronaldo are on another level to any other player.

"You have to admit that Gareth Bale was a superstar for Tottenham [Hotspur] last season," Laudrup told FourFourTwo.

"When you see Real Madrid, they are very good players but at certain points they have Ronaldo, and Barcelona have Messi. Super teams, but also they have that one player who makes a difference.

"You have 10 or 12 players just below and Bale is definitely there with [Andres] Iniesta, [Sergio] Aguero and Robin van Persie. They are all great players, but you have to say Messi and Ronaldo are something special."

Swansea take on Spurs tomorrow afternoon.