The Welshman has come under fire this season but deserves respect for what he's achieved in Spain, according to the former Liga midfielder
Gus Poyet says comparing Gareth Bale to Cristiano Ronaldo is unfair on the Wales international and that accepting who he is as a person will get the best out of him on the pitch.
Speaking exclusively to Goal, he said: "The main problem with Gareth is that he’s at Real Madrid and as soon as Cristiano Ronaldo left, people wanted him to be Ronaldo. He’s not the same, he’s Gareth Bale. "We think somebody will need to step up and do the job of Cristiano Ronaldo – nobody in the world can do that! You can’t bring in someone similar to Ronaldo. It’s unfair on Bale.
"He’s the same person who scored in the Copa del Rey final, when he ran 60 yards to score the winner. He's the same player who scored the overhead kick in the Champions League final. He’s the same person who has been there for his country. He’s Gareth Bale."
Bale found himself in the spotlight once more following comments from team-mate Thibaut Courtois, who accused him of being an outsider in the Real dressing room.
Courtois revealed that Bale's nickname amongst his Real Madrid colleagues was 'the golfer' as he rarely socialised with team-mates and preferred to play golf ahead of taking part in team dinners.
Poyet, though, who has held managerial positions in England, Greece, Spain, China and France, has stressed that every player must be treated as an individual in order to get the best out of them.
"It’s very important to adapt to where you are, who you are and who you’re working with," Poyet said. "That’s natural. But we’re all different. He [Bale] obviously lives a quiet life alone and keeps himself to himself and his friends and family.
"When he was winning the Champions League, nobody was talking about it. Or when he scored in the Champions League final. He was the same person, doing the same things. You have to accept everyone who they are.
"The most important thing to remember for a manager is you are dealing with 25 characters. You have 25 different styles of life, 25 people who are completely different to each other, different problems at home, and you need to deal with all of them. If it was all the same it would be very boring and very easy.
"If you need Gareth to perform at his best then you need to accept him as he is and he needs to adopt a little bit – and I’m sure he is open to that."
tamadlosuy
165
It will take Real Madrid some years to find a replacement for Ronaldo....No comparison is needed
Kg4991
138
I am a United fan. And 99% of United fans have that soft corner towards Ronaldo. We tried to replace CR7 with de Maria, depay and Martial. It doesn’t work, please believe us. U need to alter the game of play so that the players u have can overcome that deficit. Ronaldo is an example that any normal player can become the best, u don’t need that golden leg like Messi or pele or maradona. So he can be replaced by greater commitment and hardwork. Which is extremely difficult. Find the potential in the players like Asensio, Isco, vinicious And kroos. Make them play a different sort of game than that real used to play. Everything will come back.
Rashniccr7
98
Mbappe hazard and Neymar combined can't replace Ronaldo get that perez
Ace-Vinsen
94
You know the value of CR7 when Real Madrid are willing to break the bank to get these players to replace him. To me none can do it.
mterstegen1
86
someone knows something unlike someone
EminenceBASIT
82
The world 'nobody can do that makes me relief'. No one can feel the void left by this talisman. You just need someone who can give you 50 to 60 goals per season, you talk of great strikers but you forget the hungriness, strive, mentality to he have to be consistent. He's just the best of the kind. CR7 makes me love football completely. There's difference in missing the chance to get opportunity and there's also missing the chance to utilize and sustain the opportunity. The opportunity has lost for Madrid after they utilized many out of the utility of the man but think they're wise to dump him and build another galatico. Perez build and is demolishing his effort. It's really sad the atmosphere is cloudy in Real Madrid team. Hope they found someone near to half of the man because it's rare to get such player in this era
Teenobby
68
Bale is incomparable to Ronaldo.
leausign
66
Comparing Bale to CR7? Only Perez thinks Welshman is better than Ronaldo!
Blacknight8235
58
Bale situation at Real Madrid is he is not fluent in Spanish, most of the players at Real are Spanish speaking and it will be uncomfortable to hold meaningful dialogue with teammates when you have a communication problem and it doesn't help when he is not interested in learning their language so he will be isolated but he chooses to play there so it up him to get up to speed with the players then everyone will be on the same page, an example is Barca when they had Neymar, Messi and Suerez, they hang out together and had good communication on and off the field and the results were seen on the pitch, Bale and the rest of the team need to get in that place to be successful