Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has lavished praise on teammate Gareth Bale, insisting that the Welshman's contribution on the field deserves more respect.

Bale has scored 105 goals and provided 67 assists in 248 appearances for Los Blancos since joining the Spanish giants from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013.

The 30-year-old continues to be linked with a move away from the Bernabeu, though, with his perceived lack of commitment to Zinedine Zidane's side a subject of debate.

Casemiro has leapt to the defence of his teammate, however, branding the attacker "an incredible player".

"I'm a defender of Bale, he's an incredible player," Casemiro told Onda Cero. "People only talk about the bad things he does off the pitch, but they don't talk about what he does well, like the goals he scored in finals that won us trophies."

The former Southampton youngster, who has only scored three times in 17 appearances at club level this season, has a contract at the Bernabeu until the summer of 2022.