The Manchester United centre back used his Twitter feed to express both his admiration for the Spurs winger but caution against over hyping the Welshman.
Ferdinand wrote: “People mentioning Bale in the same breath as @Cristiano + Messi really don’t know football! Bale been 1 of best 2 in PL this year but…. …He is not on CR7 + Messi’s level yet…he carries on doing what he is doing for 2/3yrs then there can be a debate.
“Bale showed me a clean ..pair of heals once this year so I’m in good position to judge! CR7 + Messi have been on another planet for 4-5yrs.”