Marco Tardelli: 'Gareth Bale on par with Cristiano Ronaldo'

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli has expressed his belief that Gareth Bale deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale has been the subject of one of the summer's most protracted transfer sagas as Real Madrid continue to court the winger, with Tottenham Hotspur believed to be holding out for a world record bid of at least £85m.

Tardelli, whose Ireland side will take on a Wales team missing Bale on Wednesday, believes that the 24-year-old is among the best players in the world, but is not sure if he is worth quite so much money.

"He is a very good player. At the moment he is up there with Cristiano Ronaldo and players of that calibre, and we saw this with what he did for Tottenham last season," Tardelli told reporters.

"Times change but maybe in my time Diego Maradona may have been [worth that much money]. I don't know if Bale is worth that much but if someone pays it that is his value."

Bale will miss Wednesday's international friendly due to a foot injury.