Real Madrid star Gareth Bale believes teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is deserving of this year's Ballon d'Or award following his stellar year for both club and country, according toMarca.
Bale, speaking after signing a new contract with Real until 2022 earlier this week, claims that winning the individual prize has never been high on his priority list, but that Ronaldo - who has won the award three times before - is deserving of being recognised as the world's best player.
Ronaldo helped Real win the Champions League last season and then went on to lead Portugal to a win at Euro 2016 in France, and Bale said on the Real number 7:
"If I was the person to hand out the award, I would have to say Ronaldo's season has been incredible. His year has been fantastic with the Champions League and Euro 2016.
"I wish everyone luck, but above all to my teammate."
Speaking about his own opinions on winning the award, he added:"I don't know when I will be able to win it, but it has never been a personal objective.I always looked at it from the point of view that, if I win and play well, the individual prizes will arrive.
"We'll see what happens in the future.
"The most important thing is winning all the trophies possible. And, for this reason, I extended my contract with Real Madrid; because I believe that we can win a lot.
"It's important to keep on scoring, to assist and to help the club achieve a lot."
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