Ex-Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong has revealed an on-field conversation with Samuel Eto'o after Gareth Bale's iconic hat-trick against Inter Milan. 

Bale - who announced his retirement in an emotional post on Monday - shot to stardom in 2010 after notching a second-half hat-trick against the reigning Champions League holders in Spurs' 4-3 defeat.

Recalling the match, Bassong recounts how Bale gave the team 'hope' to recover their four-goal deficit and spoke on the bewilderment of Cameroon legend Eto'o.

Speaking on BBC World Service, Bassong said: 'He [Bale] just took the game on, on his own. I remember Samuel Eto'o asking me on the pitch: "Who's that?!". 

'I said: "You'll soon find out". It was crazy to see how easy it was for him to do whatever he wanted to do. At San Siro, he lifted the game up, changed the whole scenario and gave us hope.'

During the iconic match, Spurs found themselves four goals down at the half-time break and down to 10-men after Heurelho Gomes had been sent off early on.

In their first time ever competing in the Champions League, hope looked lost for Harry Redknapp's side - who were up against the reigning champions of the competition.

However, a blistering hat-trick from a 21-year-old Bale spared Tottenham's blushes and also inspired them to beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the return leg at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham went on to progress top of the group - with wins over Werden Bremen and FC Twente - in their first time featuring in the tournament.

They played Inter Milan's fierce rivals, AC Milan, in the following stage of the tournament - which they won 1-0 on aggregate thanks to a Peter Crouch strike in the away leg. 

They were eventually knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals at the hand of Real Madrid. They were beaten 4-0 in Spain and 1-0 at White Hart Lane.

The former Santiago Bernabeu star called to an end to his illustrious career - which saw him win five Champions Leagues, three LaLigas and three Club World Cups - in an emotional post on social media.  

The former Real Madrid and Tottenham forward will retire as Wales' all-time top goalscorer and most capped player in history - with 111 appearances in total. 

In his retirement statement, Bale wrote a message just for Wales fans to reiterate his passion for the national team and refused to rule out a potential return.