Cristiano Ronaldo needs Gareth Bale to help him win as stats show Real Madrid superstar is in decline

CRISTIANO RONALDO needs Gareth Bale to help him win as statistics show that the three-time world player of the year is in decline.

The Portuguese star was crowned best player in Europe last night and has declared he wants ten more years at the Bernabeu.

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But Spanish football expert Guillem Balague insists Ronaldo has accepted the Welshman will soon be the star of the show.

That comes as Portugal boss Fernando Santos called the national hero “clinically unfit” as he was omitted from the squad for the start of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Ronaldo, 31, went off early in the Euros final he played an instrumental part in winning after injuring his knee.

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And Balague says the Real icon has cried, such is the extent of his pain at being sidelined.

He said: “Ronaldo has cried from this injury, it is one that is holding him back.

“And now he is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of his career. He can’t recover as quickly as he used to.

“Now, Cristiano needs Gareth Bale if he is to win.

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"It was not like that at the beginning when Bale joined, the relationship was not the same.

"But now he has accepted his role in the team and knows he needs him for success."

Ronaldo's impact on teams is immense - he pretty much single-handedly got Portugal to the last World Cup at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's expense.

But some revealing statistics from Opta, reproduced here from Sky Sports, show some of his powers are on the wane.

Last season saw Ronaldo's touches and passes per game in La Liga reach a career low.

He now has more than 20 fewer touches per match than in 2009-10 and completes nine fewer passes per game.

Real Madrid will look to make it two wins from two in this season's La Liga when they face Celta Viga on Saturday evening.

Sky Sports Mix will show Real Madrid v Celta Vigo this weekend.  The new channel offers a selection of Sky Sports’ content to millions of Sky TV customers without a Sports subscription