Republic of Ireland assistant Marco Tardelli has rated Real MadridGareth Bale up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as the top players in the world at the moment.
As Ireland gets set to face Wales without Tottenham's Bale on Wednesday, Tardelli feels the Dragons will be without a world-class player for the midweek friendly.
"He is a very good player," said the Italian.
"At the moment he is up there with (Real Madrid forward) Cristiano Ronaldo and players of that calibre, and we saw this with what he did for Tottenham last season."
When asked about Bale's possible transfer fee of £105million, Tardelli said: "Times change but maybe in my time Diego Maradona may have been worth that much.
"I don't know if Bale is worth that much but if someone pays it that is his value."
