Giggs: Bale can replace Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid

Ryan Giggs is backing Gareth Bale to fill the “massive void” left at Real Madrid following the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo. 

The Portuguese international swapped Madrid for Turin this summer as he moved to Juventus in a deal reportedly worth in excess of £100m.

That ended a nine-year spell at Los Blancos for Ronaldo, who scored 450 goals in 438 games and won four Champions League titles in that time.

And now it would seem that the goalscoring burden once carried by Ronaldo will pass on to Bale.

But Giggs, Bale’s Welsh national team manager, is backing him to step up to the task, and he highlighted the ex-Spurs player’s experience as his key asset.

He said (via Goal): “When someone like Cristiano leaves there is always going to be a spotlight on who is going to replace him goal-wise and threat-wise.

“It’s a massive void to fill but Gareth has the experience now of being at the club for a long time.

“Every year there is pressure on him and he has handled it brilliantly.

“It’s a bit different this year because Cristiano has left and there will be more focus on the players who are going to replace the goals.

“But Gareth has shown his qualities in big games and that he can handle anything that is thrown at him.”

Giggs also believes that Bale’s injury record is the only reason why he isn’t been viewed in the same light as the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He added: “He has started this season on fire. But there’s never really a time when he is not playing well.

“I think always the problem with Gareth is that when he has been injured, he’s then had to come back and get more game time.

“But when he plays, he always plays well and more or less scores.

“It was probably when I was 28 when I really started realising what was good for me.

“Preparing for games, maybe not training as much or not as intensively and some days training more.”

How big is the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, and can Bale fill it?

During his trophy-laden nine years at Los Blancos, Ronaldo averaged a remarkable 50 goals per season and 1.03 goals every game.

The Portuguese international helped fire Real Madrid to two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and four Champions League wins while at the club, and was unquestionably their main-man.

Since arriving in Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, Gareth Bale has generally been viewed as the nearest thing to Ronaldo at the club.

Over his five full seasons at the Bernabeu, Bale has averaged just under 18 goals per season, but that hasn’t been helped by constant disruption through injury.

However, Bale has always been the man for the big occasion and has scored in three different major cup finals since joining the club – including two in last season’s Champions League final triumph over Liverpool.

The Welshman has also started the new campaign in style, scoring two goals in three games across all competitions.

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