Tottenham star Gareth Bale admits he idolises Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale's ability to cut in from the touchline and fire powerful shots at goal stirs memories of Ronaldo's time at Manchester United, and like the Portuguese, he has also become adept at playing through the middle.

"You put your targets high," Bale said. "The way Ronaldo plays, he's the best all-round player in the world.

"People have said things in the past and the stuff he does is similar to what I do.

"He is a benchmark for every player who wants to be that good and it's useful to look at other players, watch how they do things and take my game to another level."

He added: "Look at the way he takes free-kicks - he scores a lot of goals from them. He is obviously doing something right and he is on another level.

"Can I get there? One day. He's one of the players who we all try to match. Apart from Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is on a different planet and I'd love to be half as good as him."