Former Real Madrid and Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate believes Gareth Bale will thrive at the Spanish giants.

Bale is expected to move to Real this week.

"He will be joining the biggest club in the world - they have won nine European Cups and always pay the biggest transfer fees for the best player," Woodgate told the Mail on Sunday.

"I wasn't starstruck working with Zidane and Figo, I couldn't wait for training because I knew how good they were. A couple of lads are still there, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos. They weren't flashy, just normal people who were very good at football. In football, you find the better the player, the more professional they are. Nobody was ever late for training.

"Gareth will find the same. No disrespect to Spurs but he carried them a bit last season. Where would they have finished without him? I don't know what position he'll play but for that type of money, he'll be in the team somewhere. It's a frightening forward line, (Karim) Benzema, Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo."