This campaign marks Gareth Bale’s third year at Real Madrid and it may end up proving his best yet.
Harry Redknapp believes the Welshman could beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or if he performs well in the Champions League.
Bale’s former boss at Tottenham Hotspur knows the player like no other in football.
Redknapp, between 2008 and 2012 at White Hart Lane, was the man responsible for converting left-back Bale to a winger, where he is now so successful.
The English manager has always backed the rich attacking potential of the 27-year-old and insisted, speaking to the Daily Mail, the Galactico has done superbly to bounce back from a poor 2014-15 season.
“He’s come back strong,” Redknapp told the Daily Mail.
“The thing that bothered me when he left Spurs was that he was going to Real Madrid and would he be strong enough or would he fade into the background behind Cristiano Ronaldo?
“The first year he was great, then he had a year when he struggled a bit and he has come back strong again.
“He has everything. He’s good in the air, he’s 6ft 2in, a great big fella. He has power — over short distance, he’s lightening quick — he can run long distances, he can dribble, he can shoot. He can pretty much do everything.
“He’s a world figure, he’s up there. When he went to Real Madrid, I said he’s behind Messi and Ronaldo — but now he’s up there in the top six players in the world, for sure. Now all he has to do is knock those two off their perch and claim the top spot.”
And the now football advisor to Australian side Central Coast Mariners thinks Bale can do just that and claim the Ballon d’Or in January 2017.
“I think he could do it this year. If he has a great Champions League, it’s possible, if he can have a great run of games in it.”
It is certainly a defying year for Bale.
When Madrid broke the world transfer record to sign Bale from Spurs, they envisioned him becoming their main man one day.
And an equilibrium finally seems set between Ronaldo and Bale, which is the key to more trophies and especially the priority, a league title, having only won it once in the last eight years.
The Portuguese star is slacking physically, but is still dedicated and hungry to win. He now sees Bale as someone who can help him do exactly that; not challenge his prestigious status.
It’s sensible thinking from Ronaldo, who respects and accepts that Bale has got a bigger role to play, with the Cardiff-born forward improving massively under Zidane.
In 2015-16 Bale played fewer matches than in his first two campaigns in the Spanish capital through injury.
Go a full season free of any setbacks, and Redknapp’s claim could become a reality.
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