Gareth Bale claims Zinedine Zidane 'didn't do much' as Real Madrid manager & gives honest opinion on what Cristiano Ronaldo is like as a team-mate

Bale, who helped Real win three successive Champions League titles under Zidane, stated on The Overlap when asked about the Frenchman's tactical approach: "He didn't do too much... You knew if you played Barca or Bayern you would do a bit of tactics, with the rest it was minimal. In big games you do 15 minutes of tactics defensively rather than attacking and that's it."

Addressing long-standing rumours of friction within the iconic 'BBC' frontline consisting of him, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale insisted the trio worked seamlessly. "We got on very well in the dressing room. We never had a problem," he explained. "Karim was very calm... Cristiano and I were on the wing, with more spark, but he was holding it all together. I came in as the last piece of the puzzle."

When asked about Ronaldo’s perfectionism, Bale added: "I was just thinking about it, I’ve had a few arm flails when I’ve missed a one-on-one and I maybe could have passed to him! You also have to take that that is his drive and his motivation. He just wants to score, not just one, but he wants to score three, four, five, six a game, if he can.  

"You know he’s chasing records and he wants to score this and he wants to beat [Lionel] Messi doing that. You get it, and also you can’t argue (that) he’s scoring the goals. Even when he came back to Man Utd, people were like, ‘he’s not the same’, but he’s still scored the goals which is ultimately the hardest thing to do in football. He was just so driven. You know going into a game you knew pretty much that you had a 1-0 headstart knowing he’s going to score at some point, he was also a confidence-booster for the team."

The Welshman also addressed the intense scrutiny regarding his love for golf and the infamous 'Wales. Golf. Madrid.' banner. Bale clarified: "That had nothing to do with me (laughs). The Spanish press created that character. I was professional. I had the rule of not playing golf 40 hours before a game."

On the relentless pressure of representing Los Blancos, he noted: "You know you can't take your foot off the gas because they'll go after you... I had to grow up very quickly."

Reflecting on dressing room authority, Bale identified Sergio Ramos as the primary leader. "I would say Ramos was the biggest leader. Cristiano had his ego... but in terms of team leader, Ramos."

Comparing Zidane to another of his former Madrid coaches, Carlo Ancelotti, Bale said: "Carlo just had the best personal management. If you didn't play, he made you feel like he was your best friend." Ultimately, Bale believes the squad's immense talent made tactics secondary: "The coach will obviously give you some things to do, but it's not rocket science."