Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has sought to ease expectations around star signing Gareth Bale.

Spurs pulled off one of the deals of the transfer window by signing Bale on a season-long loan from Real Madrid after he had become disillusioned with life at the Bernabeu.

Monday will mark the tenth anniversary of Bale's hat-trick for Spurs against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

"Seven years is a long gap, so which player in the world is the same as he was seven years ago? Sometimes they're not better or worse, just different players," Mourinho told reporters.

"You look for example to (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi and compare them with seven years ago. They play in different areas, different positions.

"They transform their qualities, try to explore their qualities in other responsibilities on the tactical system of their teams.

"I think it happens with the majority of the players. So for sure he's a different player."