Gareth Bale is the ‘type of special player’ Manchester United need says Paul Scholes as he claims they must ‘improve massively’ to have chance of reaching a Champions League final
- Gareth Bale was the hero of Real Madrid’s third straight Champions League win
- The Welsh substitute scored twice in Kiev, including a stunning bicycle kick
- Paul Scholes thinks Bale and Neymar are the kind of players his former club need
- He does not believe Manchester United are anywhere near European success
Paul Scholes has labelled Gareth Bale as the type of ‘special player’ Manchester United need to follow in Liverpool’s footsteps and reach the Champions League final.
Bale came off the bench to score two goals, including an incredible bicycle kick, to help Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 to lift their 13th European Cup on Saturday night.
The Welshman cast doubt over his own future at Madrid following the club’s third successive Champions League triumph, admitting he needs to be ‘playing week in, week out’.
Gareth Bale was the hero of Real Madrid’s third consecutive Champions League win in Kiev
Paul Scholes believes the Welshman is the type of special player that Manchester United need
Before Bale broke Liverpool’s hearts Scholes, who won the Champions League twice in 1999 and 2008, conceded United ‘will have to improve a lot to get to anywhere near a Champions League final’.
‘If he [Jose Mourinho] can change something through the summer, buy new players and he can find a way of playing that maybe is a little bit more entertaining then who knows, you don’t know,’ Scholes said, speaking at an official UEFA Champions League final viewing party at London’s Sky Garden.
‘A lot can happen over the summer. Let’s hope we can get close again.
‘We need some good attacking players. I think the nucleus of the squad is quite good, there’s some really good young attacking players.
Scholes thinks that his former club need to improve massively to get anywhere near a final
‘I think he possibly needs a bit of help with [Romelu] Lukaku. He seems like the only out-and-out centre-forward he’s got.
‘It’s hard to know what’s available, would Gareth Bale be available? People like Neymar will they be available? I don’t know. These are the type of special players that I think United need.’
Scholes admitted that losing to Sevilla in the round of 16 of the competition ‘the way they did’ this season was a ‘big disappointment’.
He added: ‘They’ll have to improve massively to get anywhere near a final I think with the amount of top teams that are in the competition now, they don’t look anywhere close to that at the minute.’
UEFA celebrated the global reach of the Champions League final by hosting three official viewing parties in London, Rio and Shanghai. For further information: search @championsleague or #UCLParty
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