Cristiano Ronaldo came to the defence of Lamine Yamal after Portugal defeated Spain in the UEFA Nations League final on Sunday, June 8. Ronaldo scored the equaliser in the final as Portugal pushed the European champions into a penalty shootout, where they beat them 5-3 after the game ended 2-2 in normal time.
While Ronaldo had a great game, the same couldn’t be said about Yamal, who struggled to find a cutting edge. The Portuguese superstar, who praised Yamal before the final, once again jumped to the defence of the young sensation. Speaking after the game, Ronaldo said that Yamal is going to win a lot of accolades going forward, both individually and for his teams.
Ronaldo went on to say that Yamal has a lot of scope for improvement, and he is a phenomenon who should be left alone. The Portuguese superstar feels that the Spanish youngster has a big career ahead of him and will win the Nations League multiple times in the future.
“He’s going to win a lot of titles, both collective and individual. He’s only 17 years old… I repeat: he’s a kid with a lot of room for improvement. He’s a phenomenon, but we have to leave him alone, that’s what I ask. He has a very long career ahead of him and will surely win the Nations League many times,” said Ronaldo.
Ronaldo also defended Luis de la Fuente and his decision to take of Yamal in the second half of extra time. The Portugal skipper said that De la Fuente knows what is best for the team and he made the call thinking it will help the side.
“Your coach is a phenomenon. He knows better than I do—I’m not a coach—what the team needs. He’s already won several titles with Spain. What more do you want me to say? If the coach made the decision, it was because he thought it was the best thing to improve his team,” said Ronaldo.
