Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has admitted that he would prefer not to see Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch when his side face Portugal in their 2026 World Cup round of 16 clash. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.
Speaking ahead of the game at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the Spain boss emphasized the danger that Ronaldo still poses at the highest level.
Luis added that the 41-year-old remains a match-winning threat despite his veteran status.
His words, “I admire Cristiano and people like him, with character and ambition. An example for everyone. With the talent and class he has, he can decide a game at any moment. I would prefer that he didn’t play, but I believe he will play and we will enjoy one of the best players in history and we will try to be superior to him and to them.
With Cristiano, you can never be complacent. You can’t give these kinds of brilliant footballers any slack off, but I have confidence in our defenders. We’ll see who has more power in this battle; I believe we’ll control all these situations.”
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António. He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, who worked as a cook in the hospitality industry and a cleaning woman, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener at the Junta de Freguesia of Santo António and part-time kit man for football club Andorinha.
Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA Community Shield but in time for their game against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003–04 season, and made him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club.
Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee at the time of £80 million (€94 million). His contract, which ran until 2015, was worth €11 million per year and contained a €1 billion buy-out clause.
