Former Tottenham boss Terry Venables insists Gareth Bale cannot be placed in the same bracket as Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

El Tel wrote in The Sun: "The former Southampton trainee is even being valued in the same £80million price bracket as the Bernabeu superstar.

"Both are quick, skilful, exciting, explosive and capable of producing moments of brilliance to win matches almost single-handedly.

"They also love to run at defenders and have an eye for goal, especially from free-kicks.

"When both are on song they are almost impossible to stop and an absolute pleasure to watch.

"They are rightly renowned as two of the best footballers on the planet, but I do not believe Bale is as good as Ronaldo... yet.

"He has the potential to be and let's not forget that, at 23, he is five years younger than his rival.

"But at the moment I would rubbish talk of Bale being on the same level.

"He does not score as many goals as Ronaldo for a start. Neither is he as good at heading the ball.

"And he may have been in fantastic form for Tottenham and Wales, but he is still slightly inconsistent."