Wales v Portugal at Euros: Bale v Ronaldo head-to-head fact attack
- Published
STARTING OUT: Cristiano Ronaldo, who's 31, began playing football for the amateur club where his dad worked as a kit man. By age 10 he was already getting attention from professional teams. Gareth Bale was first discovered by Southampton aged nine when playing for his local team. Young Bale’s hero was Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.
CAPS: Ronaldo has played 131 times for Portugal, more than any other Portuguese player in history. He played his first game for his country aged just 18. When Bale first played for Wales in 2006, he was the youngest player ever to play for the country - at 16 years and 315 days. He has gone on to play 60 times for the mighty Dragons.
GOALS: With a whopping 60 goals, Ronaldo is the top scorer in Portuguese history. He’ll be hoping to add a few to that total against Wales. Cristiano’s 487 goals for his clubs probably mean the Welsh defence are slightly worried. Bale has scored 22 goals for Wales, and is having a brilliant Euro 2016 so far. He scored in all three group games to become Wales’ all-time top tournament goal scorer.
TROPHIES: Ronaldo has won 17 major trophies, including three Champions Leagues, three Premier Leagues and a Spanish League title. He has also won the Ballon d’Or three times, which is given to the best player in the world at the end of the season. Hopefully Bale is good at DIY, because if he keeps playing this well he might need to build a new trophy cabinet. He has won five major trophies, including two Champions Leagues. Better leave a space in the cabinet just in case for the Euro 2016 trophy eh, Gareth?
STRENGTHS: Ronaldo’s greatest strength is his... strength. Players who play against him find it very hard to take the ball from him, and he can hit powerful free kicks and penalties. Ronaldo is so talented that he can play on either wing or up front and often switches positions to try and confuse defences. Bale is one of the fastest footballers in the world, and sprints past most players he faces. He is so skilled with his left foot that at school his PE teacher made him play only with his right, to give the other kids a chance against him.
WEAKNESSES: Despite being one of the world’s best players, Ronaldo can sometimes be a grumpy guts. He often shouts at his teammates and recently threw a reporter's microphone into a lake. While Bale has no fear about playing against Portugal, he is terrified of creepy crawlies. Bale doesn’t like spiders in particular, and unfortunately for him Madrid is full of them! Cheer up, Gareth, if you beat Portugal you can stay in France a little bit longer.
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