Cristiano Ronaldo proved invaluable in leading Madrid to a victory over Barcelona on Tuesday, but it seems that the team may be pursuing options to replacing their franchise player.
Gareth Bale is being mentioned as Madrid's major target to replace the Portuguese superstar. According to The Daily Mail, Madrid will formalize their efforts to buy the Tottenham Hotspur star if Ronaldo refuses to sign a new contract with the team. The publication asserts that Bale would be the replacement for Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has stated that he wants to play in Madrid until his contract expires in 2015. However recent reports indicate that Madrid President Florentino Perez is growing tired of Ronaldo's refusal to sign an extension and is looking to sell him this summer to buy players for a rebuilding process; Bale would be the first major piece in the rebuild.
The Tottenham Hotspurs are reportedly looking to resign Bale, but the Welshman could wait until the summer to make his decision.
Bale has had a tremendous season for Tottenham. He has scored 15 goals in 24 matches in the Premier League and 25 tallies in all matches. His performances have drawn such rave reviews that Bale has been compared to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. In a recent interview, Bale stated that he was flattered by comparisons to the two best players in the world.
"I think anybody would love to be mentioned alongside the best in the world...It's flattering, but I don't really look too much into it. I don't get the newspapers or read too many reports, so I don't really know how much hype there is," he mentioned.
Regarding whether he tries to emulate Ronaldo, Bale noted that "I don't model my game on Ronaldo's. I have my own way of playing and it's not exactly the same but we do have similar attributes.
"I just like watching the best players: seeing Messi and Ronaldo. I've watched Ronaldo in the past and you do take things from other people's games to try to improve as a player, which I have - hopefully," he added.
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