Gareth Bale's feelings clear on Andy Murray as he reveals who is best at golf - EXCLUSIVE

Gareth Bale has opened up on his relationship with Sir Andy Murray and revealed which one of them is better at golf. The pair are two of the finest sportsmen of their generation, with Bale becoming one of the most highly decorated footballers of the modern era by winning five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, while also becoming Wales' most-capped player and top goalscorer.

Murray, meanwhile, is a former tennis world No. 1 who won 46 career titles including three Grand Slams, claiming two Wimbledon titles and a US Open victory. However, while they excelled in their respective sports, both men famously have a love of golf. During his time in Madrid, Bale was criticised for the amount of time he spent on the fairways, while a flag reading 'Wales, golf, Madrid - in that order' was infamously unfurled as he celebrated his country's qualification for Euro 2020 with his team-mates. Meanwhile, Murray has taken things even further since retiring from tennis last year, with the 38-year-old now playing golf every day as he bids to qualify for the 2027 Open Championship. After hanging up his racket, he even changed his Twitter bio to read: "I played tennis. Now I play golf."

However, while the Scot has shown great commitment to perfecting his game over the last year, Bale has suggested that he may still have the edge over the tennis legend when it comes to skill on the golf course. Since retiring, Murray has reportedly managed to drop his handicap to a hugely impressive 1.9.

However, he is still behind Bale, who has slashed his to a remarkable 0.1, nearly scratch - a fact that the Wales legend cheekily pointed to as he faced questions on who was better out of the two sports stars. He told Express Sport: "My handicap would suggest me!

"But [Andy] is a good player. He hasn't been playing long, but he's a very good player. I've played with him many times now and he's such a good, nice, humble guy. He's very funny as well."

Murray and Bale have faced off on the fairway on several occasions now, while they played together at the recent Pro-Am at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. The two-time Olympic tennis champion even managed to sink an eagle on the 18th hole after Bale set him up with a powerful drive.

The ex-Tottenham and Real Madrid man has also played alongside Rory McIlroy at Pro-Am events, and while he has ruled out pursuing a professional career himself, he admits he loves watching some of the sport's finest talents in action. "It was great to play with them, I've played with them a few times now," he said.

"It's always good to have a fun day, a bit more relaxed even if there are a lot of people watching. It's been good to play in some of those events, even just to watch the pros up close and see how they do things. You can really learn a lot from it. It's been good fun and I'm sure there will be a few more in the future."

On how he is spending his retirement, Bale added: "I'm trying to practice my golf game. Obviously the weather is now turning, so that will probably take a bit of a big hit, but I'm enjoying finally being able to play golf with nobody judging me! Yeah, it's good."

Gareth Bale was speaking at the Gareth Bale Festival of Sport, organised in partnership with StreetGames, Wales Golf and CAA Sports - with support from the R&A - and held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales.