If Gareth Bale was given a quid for every time he had to field questions on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s probably have enough spare cash to buy himself.
There’s very little hard evidence to suggest the pair don’t get on, yet some will have you believe they’re at each others’ throats on a constant basis.
This week, the Real Madrid teammates will face each other as Wales take on Portugal for a place in the final of Euro 2016. With Bale facing the media ahead of the game, it won’t come as surprise that Ronaldo’s name cropped up on several occasions.
“It’s not about two players, everybody knows that,” Bale insisted. Â “It’s about two nations, 11 men v 11 men.”
“It will be a very different game, they’re in the semi for a reason but we’ll enjoy the occasion as we have done.
“He [Ronaldo] is a fantastic player. Everybody knows what he can do, but we speak about what we can do as a team.
“The teams we’ve played had very good individuals, but it’s about how we perform as a team and by doing that we can shut out a lot of threats.
“The star in our team is all of us. We are all together, we all work as one, running for each other, tackling for each other. We get on like brothers and we’re having fun, enjoying the occasion, with no fear. It’s working so far.”
When asked if Ronaldo was feeling tense given his reaction to his country’s 1-1 draw against Iceland in their opening Euro 2016 fixture, Bale gave little away with his response.
“I’m not too sure, I can’t comment on what he’s feeling. I’m sure he had his reasons for doing what he did.”
And for umpteenth time, Bale insisted there was no problem between the two.
“We get on well at Madrid and we enjoy playing with each other. I’m not sure what he does off the pitch, that’s his private life. It’s not for me to decide who’s the better player. If I can help Wales win that’s all I need.”
Something tells us we’ll still hear plenty more about the pair’s supposedly strained relationship.
