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Anyone who has been following the Euro 2016 qualifiers knows how important Gareth Bale has been to Wales.

The Real Madrid man and world's most expensive footballer has almost single handedly carried his nation to the brink of a first major tournament since 1958.

That's not just an opinion. The facts actually prove it.

Away at Andorra, Bale's two goals turned a potential 1-0 Wales defeat into a 2-1 win. At home to Belgium, his goal turned a potential 0-0 draw into a 1-0 win - and he did the exact same thing away in Cyprus.

That means Bale's goals have been directly responsible for turning a defeat and two draws into a draw and two wins.

In other words, he has directly won seven points for his team in Euro 2016 qualfying.

Unsurprisingly, that means Bale has won more points for his side than any other player in Europe. Apart from… well, guess who:

Points won with individual goals 7 Gareth Bale (Wales) 7 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 5 Josip Drmic (Switzerland) 5 Kyle Lafferty (N Ireland) 5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)

Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo - whose goals have been just as important to Portugal as Bale's have been to Wales.

Bale probably thought international football was his one chance to escape the giant shadow of his Real Madrid team-mate.

Ronnie thought otherwise…