Zinedane Zidane was once the top player in the world as he led France to the World Cup finals twice and won in 1998. Speaking with Sky Sports, Zidane was open about the current top players in the world and even threw a surprise in his choice for this year's most impressive player.
"This year the player who has impressed me most is not actually playing in the Champions League," Zidane stated during the interview. "He is playing in "the other cup" [Europa League], and that is [Gareth] Bale."
The Tottenham Hotspur star has carried the team to the third spot in the Premier league with 17 goals in 28 games and has also led the team to the Europa league to the quarterfinals. When he was banned from playing for the team in the second leg against Inter Milan, his absence clearly left a void for the team which imploded in a 4-1 win.
What makes Gale so special for Zidane? The Frenchman felt that Bale was a unique and incomparable superstar. "You can't compare him, he is unique, he makes things look easy, his pace is frightening. His acceleration is unbelievable because of his ability to go through the gears in very little space," he added. "Plus, he is very good technically which is also important, we must not forget that he plays football well.
In the past, Bale has been compared with the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the consensus top two players in the world. Zidane did not shy away from the comparison and while admitting that the 23-year old still has a long way to go, he threw in a new wrinkle to the conversation. "He's perhaps not quite at the level of the other two [Ronaldo & Messi], but he's different. So personally I don't think he's far off."
Bale gets a chance to continue showing off his stellar play this week when Tottenham takes on FC Basel on Thursday.
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