Spurs slam Arsenal, Man Utd: Bale better than Rooney, Ronaldo and even Giggs

Gareth Bale's stock is rising even faster than his sensational exploits on the field for Tottenham and Wales.

He is emerging as the knight in shining armour in Britain even overshadowing Wayne Rooney after reigniting Wales's 2014 World Cup campaign with a stunning late double against Scotland on Friday.

So much so that Wales manager Chris Coleman conceded that he would not swap the Tottenham winger for any other player in Britain at present ahead of the clash against Croatia to whom they lost 2-0.

Coleman said: "I wouldn't swap him for anyone else, to be fair. Anyone can see when he's got the ball he's devastating. He's a terrific player. His work-rate is excellent, he comes away with Wales and plays with passion and incredible ability. You'd be crazy to try and swap him (read Rooney and Ronaldo).

"He's scored all our goals (in this campaign) so far and I know people are talking about him. He's a show-stopper and people pay money to come and watch him play but that performance on Friday wasn't just Baley. He got the goals, but there were some terrific performances."

Although he did not score on Tuesday, Croatia manager Igor Stimac paid a glowing tribute to Bale by saying he was better than Manchester United and Wales legend Ryan Giggs was at his peak.

Bale’s stunning exploits, first against Scotland and then in Croatia, have led to inevitable comparisons with his predecessor on the Welsh wing.

“When I was playing in England, I came up against Ryan Giggs and, of course, he was a good player too, world class,” said Stimac who played against Giggs many times while he starred in the Premier League as a defender with West Ham and Derby,

“But I think Bale is better than Giggs. He has the skill of Giggs, but he is stronger, has more stature and is much more difficult for a team to deal with because of that.

“Already Bale is one of the top five players in the world, a fantastic wonderful footballer.

“I like him very much, he brings so much to a team.”

Little wonder Bales was a marked man against and a transfer target of Spanish giants Real Madrid.

“It is normal for me to be a marked man these days I think,” said Bale deflecting the plaudits coming his way.

“I’m never going to stop doing what I do and hopefully I can continue to play well.”
 

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