During his second spell at Tottenham Hotspur, Garteh Bale revealed the Spurs teammate who reminded him of Ronaldinho in training.
Bale’s return to Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 didn’t exactly go to plan as the former Real Madrid star struggled to break back into the team under Jose Mourinho.
The Welsh winger still managed an impressive 16 goals and three assists in 34 appearances for the North London club, which helped them to reach the Carabao Cup final and finish seventh.
During his time at the club, he revealed his teammate who surprised him the most in training, and his ability on the ball was ‘frightening’.
Gareth Bale on Tanguy Ndombele’s ‘frightening ability’ at Tottenham
Gareth Bale named Tanguy Ndombele as his Tottenham teammate whose ability shocked him the most in training.
He admitted that some of the things the Frenchman could do with the ball reminded him of watching legendary Barcelona forward Ronaldinho.
Ndombele was another player whose spell at the North London club didn’t quite hit the heights expected following his then club-record move from Lyon, although his skill levels were undeniable.
Speaking to Sky Sports back in 2021, Bale revealed: “I’d probably have to say Ndombele this season, I hadn’t seen too much of him when I was watching Spurs games the season before and I think he had an adaptation period coming over to England.
“Just seeing what he does in training and on the pitch here, I was very surprised and the ability he has is actually frightening.
“The stuff he does with the ball, it kind of reminds me of something you see Ronaldinho do with the ball and it’s quite nice to watch.”
Tanguy Ndombele failed spell at Tottenham
Ndombele was released from his Tottenham contract in 2023 after failing to break into Ange Postecoglou’s squad, and there being no club willing to buy him.
The Frenchman spent five seasons as a Spurs player, however, he was only kept at the club for two and a half of those seasons before having three different loan spells.
| Apps | Goals | Assists | |
| Ndombele | 91 | 10 | 9 |
Ndombele managed just 19 goal contributions in 91 matches for the club, which is not a great return for a player who cost Tottenham around £55 million.
