Gareth Bale v Cristiano Ronaldo: Which of Euro 2016 rivals has the edge?
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Portugal v Wales |
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Date: Wednesday, 6 July Venue: Stade de Lyon, Lyon Kick-off: 20:00 BST |
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and text commentary online & on BBC Sport app |
Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo may be prolific team-mates for Real Madrid but on Wednesday they will become enemies for 90 minutes - or maybe more.
The two come head to head in the Euro 2016 semi-final, with Bale's Wales facing the biggest game in their history, and Ronaldo, at the age of 31, running out of time to win an international trophy with Portugal.
How do the two compare - and who has been more effective at Euro 2016?
Their record at Euro 2016
Bale, 26, has had more joy during the tournament than his Real colleague - so far at least. He has scored three goals to Ronaldo's two and they came in three different group games, whereas Ronaldo's two came in a 3-3 draw with Hungary.
Bale has scored two of his five free-kicks, with Ronaldo, 31, failing to score from 10, meaning he has zero goals from 41 free-kick attempts at major tournaments.
Ronaldo has had more shots than anyone else in the tournament (36), with Bale joint second - all the way down on 21 and level with Belgium's Kevin de Bruyne. Poland's Arkadiusz Milik and Ronaldo's team-mate Nani are joint fourth on 19.
Ronaldo has attempted more passes, with a much better passing accuracy than Bale - but the Welshman has had much more success with his dribbles.
When they score their goals
If one of these players does prove to be the hero, when is the damage likely to be done? Bale tends to do his scoring at international level earlier on, while Ronaldo leaves it late. Some 60% of Bale's goals for Wales come in the first half, compared to 38% for Ronaldo.
Bale has scored three of his 22 goals in the opening 15 minutes, compared to two of Ronaldo's 60. Ronaldo has scored four goals in the last minute, something Bale has never achieved for his country. Yet.
But how about their club careers?
There is no doubt whose trophy cabinet is bigger. Neither player nor their team has won an international tournament but Ronaldo has won everything at club level.
The Portuguese has won 12 major trophies for Manchester United and Real, to Bale's three. And that's not to mention Ronaldo's three Ballon d'Or awards for the world's top player and four Golden Boots in England and Spain. Bale has none.
They are level, however, on PFA player of the year awards - two each.
Head to head - who has the edge?
The two have played against each other five times in total at club level, with Ronaldo being on the winning side every time.
Date played | Competition | Bale's team | Score | Ronaldo's team | Winner |
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13 April 2011 | Champions League | Tottenham | 0-1 | Real Madrid | Ronaldo |
5 April 2011 | Champions League | Tottenham | 0-4 | Real Madrid | Ronaldo |
24 January 2009 | FA Cup | Tottenham | 1-2 | Man Utd | Ronaldo |
1 March 2009 | League Cup | Tottenham | 0-0 (1-4 pens) | Man Utd | Ronaldo |
25 April 2009 | Premier League | Tottenham | 2-5 | Man Utd | Ronaldo |
Is this the perfect time for Bale to seek revenge against his Real Madrid team-mate?
Create leagues and play against your friends in BBC Sport's new Euro 2016 Predictor game
- Published5 July 2016
- Attribution
- Published5 July 2016
- Published4 July 2016