Real Madrid, Juventus and France great Zinedine Zidane believes Gareth Bale is not too far off the likes of Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Tottenham winger has been constantly compared to the Barcelona and Real Madrid maestros in recent times with Zidane's CV making him well-versed to give an assessment.
Zidane suggests Bale is a different kind of player to the other two and indicated that he feels the Welshman is not far off those exceptional talents.
"This year the player who has impressed me most is not actually playing in the Champions League," he told Sky Sports. "He is playing in 'the other cup' (Europa League), and that is Bale.
"You can't compare him, he is unique, he makes things look easy, his pace is frightening. His acceleration is unbelievable because of his ability to go through the gears in very little space.
"Plus, he is very good technically which is also important, we must not forget that he plays football well.
"He's really impressed me. I've seen him two or three times live, including recently at Lyon, which wasn't necessarily his best game, but where every time he got the ball he can surprise you.
"He's perhaps not quite at the level of the other two [Ronaldo & Messi], but he's different. So personally I don't think he's far off."
