Bale salutes Ronaldo: 'We've never had a problem'

Gareth Bale reassured Real Madrid supporters that his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo is excellent - so good, in fact, they've never quarreled before.

"We've never had a problem. I've never had an argument with him," Bale, who returns to England to face Manchester City in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final, told Henry Winter of The Times of London. "He's a very passionate person on the pitch. Everyone knows that. He's very determined. People sometimes seem to take that the wrong way. We haven't had a problem."

Despite picking up a thigh injury last week in La Liga action, Ronaldo is set to play beside Bale at the Etihad. The two have enjoyed great seasons in equal measure, finding goals to keep Madrid on the path for a multi-trophy year.

Bale scored twice in the absence of his Portuguese teammate to cap a remarkable comeback win at Rayo Vallecano on the weekend, but it was Ronaldo's hat trick against Wolfsburg that propelled Madrid to a sixth consecutive semi-final appearance in Europe's premier competition.

Long considered rivals in the same camp, ex-Tottenham winger Bale insists it was former Manchester United star Ronaldo who helped him adjust to life in Spain.

"He speaks English, which helped me when I first came here. We also have that link from the Premier League. We get on really well. The press make a lot of things that maybe we don't, but we get on fine."