Gary Neville: Manchester United should sign Bale, not Ronaldo

Gary Neville believes Manchester United would be better off signing Gareth Bale from Real Madrid than bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford to join los Blancos for a world-record fee in 2009, and has gone on to win the Ballon d'Or twice during his time in Spain.

The Portugal star has repeatedly been linked with a return to Manchester during the latter stages of his career.

But Neville says Bale, Ronaldo's team-mate who is four years younger, would be a smarter signing.

“The idea of Cristiano coming back as his swansong, well it wouldn’t be the same for him as it was before," Neville told the Daily Star.

“What he did before at United was, for two years, out of this world and it was a privilege to be part of it. But I would certainly prefer us to get Bale - and that’s no disrespect to Cristiano.”

Rumours are rife that Ronaldo - now Madrid's all-time top scorer - could seek an exit out of the club after falling out with new coach Rafael Benitez.