Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale has been questioned on the difference without Cristiano Ronaldo after his summer exit to join Juventus.
The Portuguese superstar was a major part of the club’s success in his nine years at the Bernabeu, regularly winning individual accolades while leading them to countless trophies.
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However, Julen Lopetegui’s side have had to adapt to life without him so far this season as he bagged his first goals for Juventus on Sunday, but Bale believes that there will be a significant difference moving forward.
Perhaps meant entirely as an innocent comment, it has been interpreted by many Spanish outlets as a slight dig at his former teammate in that he suggests that they’ll play more as a team rather than arguably being built in a way to ensure that Ronaldo flourished.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a little different than having such a big player, maybe it’s going to be a little more relaxed, I guess we will be more team, working more as a unit rather than as a single player,” he is quoted as saying by Marca.
Real Madrid have collected 10 points from their opening four La Liga games of the season, with the likes of Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio stepping up and taking on more responsibility.
In that sense, Bale makes a valid point as there will have to be a joint effort to fill the void left behind by Ronaldo, albeit the Welshman will surely be eager to emerge as their new talisman as the weeks and months progress.
He’s made a positive start with three goals and three assists in five games thus far, but it’s unclear as to how Ronaldo will react and interpret his comments as they can certainly be taken in a way to suggest that with the 33-year-old no longer dominating the spotlight, the team will perhaps come first now.