Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale opened up about what it was really like sharing a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo during one of the most dominant periods in the club’s modern history, shutting down long-running rumors about tension between the team’s biggest stars.Although the comments originally came during a March appearance on The Overlap and Stick to Football podcasts, clips from the interview recently went viral again online as fans revisited stories from Real Madrid’s famous “BBC” era featuring Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Bale and Ronaldo spent five seasons together at Real Madrid between 2013 and 2018 after the Welshman joined the Spanish giants from Tottenham Hotspur for what was then a world-record transfer fee. During that period, Real Madrid won four UEFA Champions League titles together, including the historic three consecutive Champions League triumphs under manager Zinedine Zidane in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The side also lifted two La Liga titles, three UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and a Copa del Rey trophy, with Bale and Ronaldo widely regarded as one of football’s most devastating counter-attacking partnerships.
Bale explains Ronaldo’s mentality inside the dressing room
For years, stories circulated about friction between Real Madrid’s superstar players, particularly within the attacking trio known as “BBC”. But Bale insisted relationships inside the dressing room were far healthier than many people believed. “We got on very well in the dressing room. We never had a problem,” Bale said. “Karim was very calm… Cristiano and I were on the wing, with more spark, but he was holding it all together. I came in as the last piece of the puzzle.”
2013–2018: Real Madrid’s ‘BBC’ trio of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema ruled Europe/ Image:
The former Wales captain also spoke in detail about Ronaldo’s famously obsessive mentality around scoring goals and breaking records. “Whether in training or matches, all he wanted to do was score goals. If you didn’t pass him the ball, you noticed it,” Bale said while laughing during the interview. “I’ve had a few arm flails when I’ve missed a one-on-one and I maybe could have passed to him! “You also have to take that that is his drive and his motivation. He just wants to score, not just one, but he wants to score three, four, five, six a game, if he can. “You know he’s chasing records and he wants to beat (Lionel) Messi doing that. You get it, and also you can’t argue because he’s scoring the goals.” Bale explained that Ronaldo’s obsession with goals never created problems inside the squad because teammates understood the level of competitiveness driving him. “He was just so driven,” Bale continued. “You know going into a game you knew pretty much that you had a 1-0 headstart knowing he’s going to score at some point, he was also a confidence-booster for the team.”
Ronaldo would get angry even after 5-0 wins
In another interview with YouTuber Martin Borgmeier, Bale revealed Ronaldo could become furious even after comfortable victories if he personally failed to score. “He had his moments,” Bale explained. “For example, if we win 5-0 and he didn’t score, he comes in and throws his boots like he’s angry. “It’s like your team winning the Ryder Cup but you didn’t get a point so you are angry.” Despite Ronaldo’s intensity, Bale insisted the Portuguese forward was easy to work with once teammates understood his personality. “But he was a nice guy, nothing wrong, we didn’t really have any problems,” Bale said. “A lot of people could be scared of how he is but if you’re not then it’s fine.”
Zidane’s tactical approach surprised Bale
Bale also offered a fascinating insight into how Zidane managed one of football’s most talented squads during Real Madrid’s dominant European run. According to the Welshman, Zidane kept tactical instructions surprisingly simple and largely trusted the quality of the players already inside the dressing room. “He didn’t do too much,” Bale said about Zidane’s coaching style. “You knew if you played Barca or Bayern you would do a bit of tactics, with the rest it was minimal. “In big games you do 15 minutes of tactics defensively rather than attacking and that’s it.” That relaxed tactical structure still produced one of the greatest eras in modern football history, with Real Madrid becoming the first club in the Champions League era to win the competition three seasons in a row. Besides the famous BBC frontline, the team was also built around the legendary “KCM” midfield trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić, while Sergio Ramos captained the side. Bale described Ramos as one of the key dressing-room leaders who helped manage the many strong personalities inside the squad.
Even free-kicks became competitive
Bale also shared one lighter story about how competitive the atmosphere inside the squad could become, particularly when it came to taking free-kicks. Although Ronaldo usually took most set pieces around the box, Bale explained there were certain areas where he felt he had priority. The former winger joked that some decisions occasionally came down to games of rock-paper-scissors between teammates, reflecting the balance between competitiveness and camaraderie inside the dressing room.
Bale’s own Real Madrid journey
Bale retired from football in January 2023 at the age of 33 shortly after representing Wales national football team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Before ending his playing career with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, Bale established himself as one of the greatest Welsh footballers of all time through his success at Tottenham and Real Madrid. Across 157 matches played together, Bale and Ronaldo helped define an era at the Santiago Bernabéu that many supporters still regard as one of the strongest club sides football has ever seen.
