That’s the view of Gareth Bale, who has attempted to step into Ronaldo’s shoes at the Bernabeu with the Welshman shining in the early stages of the season. Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer, joining Serie A giants Juventus for £88.8million. Bale has been an early beneficiary of the transfer, netting three La Liga goals in Real’s first four appearances. That has helped Los Blancos to an unbeaten start, though they sit two points behind Barcelona after four games.

But Bale believes Ronaldo’s departure has been good for Real Madrid, with the team not worrying about the Portuguese star anymore. “Obviously it's going to be a little different from having such a big player there,” Bale told the Daily Mail. “It's maybe a bit more relaxed, yes. “I suppose there is more of a team, more working as one unit rather than one player.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were team-mates at Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus this summer

Ronaldo bagged his first goals as a Juventus player yesterday in his fourth competitive game for the club. The 33-year-old netted both as Juve beat Sassuolo 2-1. And after going three games without a goal, the former Manchester United man admitted it was a relief to break his duck. "I'm very happy, it was a match played, Sassuolo played well, we have to give merit to us, we were intense, we created many chances,” Ronaldo said.

Gareth Bale has shone since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid