Rafael Van der Vaart says Bale is not on either Messi or Ronaldo’s level and called Mourinho suffocating.
Van der Vaart played with Bale during his time at Tottenham and moved to Hamburg in 2012, with Bale moving to Madrid in 2013.
The Welshman has enjoyed success with the Los Blancos, winning the champions league, copa del rey, FIFA club world cup and uefa super cup.
But was heavily criticized for his performance last season, and has played only seven times this season due to injury.
And, in an interview with Canal Plus, Van der Vaart said: “I never thought Bale would end up playing at Madrid. Bale isn’t like [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi; that’s another level.”
Asked about his move from Madrid to Tottenham, which came three months after Mourinho’s appointment as coach, Van der Vaart added: “Mourinho is a very good coach; he’s suffocating, but he knows what he wants.
“He told me they were going to sign [Mesut] Ozil and that it was best that I left for another team in England or wherever.”