Bale: "I don't think anyone is near Ronaldo right now"

Gareth Bale has a clear favourite for the Ballon d'Or, his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. "For me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world and I don't think anyone is near him. He deserves that award. The goals and the performances he has put in, especially when you think of the pressure he is under, for Portugal the other day, it shows what a true, true world-class player he is."
According to the Welshman, Ronaldo has "given me encouragement every game, given me confidence. He's helped me out a lot on and off the pitch. We're enjoying playing together and I think that the goals and assists show that we're playing well together. There's still a lot more to come from us both and hopefully we can have a successful season by doing that."
During the interview at the launch of EA SPORTS FIFA 14, Bale said "Since I've been here he's been nothing short of unbelievable. I don't think he has scored less than two goals a game since I've been at the club. The amount of goals he's scored is just mind-blowing this season."
Regarding how he is adapting to life in Madrid, Bale remarked that his Spanish "is improving slowly." He also mentioned that several former Real Madrid players like Michael Owen, Steve McManaman and Jonathan Woodgate and above all, David Beckham, had offered him advice on settling in. "Everyone called me to give me advice and wish me luck and I really appreciated it."
Finally, Bale shrugged off talk of his transfer fee: "The amount that was paid is not ­something I think about. I just want to concentrate on the football. The transfer fee or the money paid is nothing to do with me. I just want to be the best player I can be. "