Bale tips Mbappe to win Ballon d’Or next year, backs Real Madrid for La Liga and UCL titles | OneFootball

Nights like Real Madrid’s recent defeat at Anfield remind one of the legend that Gareth Bale was for the club.

Part of a fearsome trident alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, the Welsh wing-wizard was instrumental in the team’s success for years.

For all his injury struggles and his collapse towards the end, he was one to step up under the highest of pressure.

Earlier this week, Bale came out openly to defend Kylian Mbappe after his horror show at Anfield and called for patience.

Now, he has once again shown his faith in the project in a recent show on TNT Sports.

Bale’s bold predictions

At the event hosted by the outlet, the Real Madrid icon was asked to make certain season-end predictions over the UEFA Champions League, La Liga and other parameters.

Ballon d’Or winner for 2025? Bale thinks so. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Despite Los Blancos lingering on the edge of elimination, however, Bale made a bold prediction that the team would go on to win the UEFA Champions League for the 16th time this year, echoing Ancelotti’s thoughts.

“Real Madrid,” he said boldly when asked to predict the UCL winner.

The former player was then asked about La Liga and how he saw the title race going down, especially with Hansi Flick’s Barcelona in rich form.

Bale, however, was confident that Real Madrid would pull that off too and named his former club as the favourites to win the Spanish League and defend their title.

Finally, he was asked who would win the Ballon d’Or next year and carry the crown after Manchester City’s Rodri, to which he predicted a shocking name.

“Kylian Mbappe,” he said, once again putting his money on the out-of-form star.

Interestingly, however, he did not name Mbappe as his top-scorer prediction in either La Liga or the UCL as he named Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane respectively.