Southampton captain Adam Lallana says the big-money move of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid has inspired him.
The 25-year old midfielder saw fellow former Saints youth academy product Bale leave Tottenham for the Spanish giants last summer and has been pleased to see him continue to develop his game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Lallana has revealed that he has been most impressed by the fact that Bale has continued to work hard in Madrid in order to take his game to a level in line with one of the world's greatest players, Cristiano Ronaldo.
"He's moved to Real Madrid for £100m, but he's still competing with the best like (Cristiano) Ronaldo," Lallana told Sky Sports News.
"When they are setting the standard it shows when they are worth that much money and they're still putting in the work and still wanting to get better, wanting to score more goals, then that's the attitude that every professional footballer should have really.
"He's got that X-Factor, he's an unbelievable individual and he's proven his worth.
"He's gone to Real Madrid with bundles of pressure on him, can he handle the price tag? He just looks like he's enjoying his football like everyone else really in the Real Madrid team."
