‘Bale is treated like Ronaldo and Messi’

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 20 May 2021 11:26 BST
• 2 min read

Gareth Bale is a victim of his own success and is treated the same way as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, according to Ben Davies.

Tottenham host Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday with Bale starting to look more like his old self.

Bale has registered two goals and two assists in his last three appearances, two of them off the substitutes’ bench.

That came after he endured a difficult first half of the season on loan from Real Madrid, struggling with his form and fitness, falling out of favour with Jose Mourinho as a result.

His Tottenham and Wales team-mate Davies thinks Bale handles the scrutiny superbly, even if the pressure he is under is similar to that of Juventus star Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Messi.

‘Everyone has a story about Bale, Ronaldo or Messi’

“When you have players of his quality, the levels he has reached in the game, whether it be Gareth Bale, Cristiano, Messi, everyone has a story about them being great now or poor the next day or not reaching the heights they have reached,” Davies told reporters.

“Gareth has had a lot of criticism, probably unjustly, when he was at the top of his form.

“He is an incredibly tough person to have to deal with some of the stuff he has had to deal with off the field and still perform the way he has throughout his career.

“Even after four Champions Leagues, what he’s done for the national team, what he did for Real Madrid, he still gets questioned about his ability.

“That must be tough to take. I think he deals with it pretty incredibly. He is a terrific footballer and a great bloke.”

‘Tottenham will see his quality’

Bale arrived to huge expectations and fan excitement from Madrid in a season-long loan deal in September.

READ MORE: Not up to Bale and Alli to save Spurs, says Dier

Even though Bale has looked more like himself in recent matches, it is hard to call the move a success at this stage.

Davies added: “Expectation is all opinionated. You might have had a different expectation to what I had.

“Gareth is Gareth. He always gives his best and we have seen in games this year, he has scored goals and made assists. He has got the quality there. I am sure we will see it for the rest of the season.

“We all know the quality Gareth has and we are going to have a lot of games where he is going to be vital for us. I am looking forward to seeing him out on the pitch.”

Mourinho said this week that Bale looks as happy and fit as he has been since returning to Tottenham.