7-6-2025
Cristiano Ronaldo said Saturday there was no basis of comparison between him and youngster Lamine Yamal as Portugal prepare to battle Spain in Sunday’s UEFA Nations League final.
Ronaldo, 40, who smashed in the winner against Germany to send his country into the final said it was wrong for the media to characterise the final a battle between him and the emerging 17-year-old Spanish player. Yamal was named man-of-the-match after bagging a brace in Spain’s wild 5-4 semi-final win over France.
“There are different generations, one is coming in and another is exiting the stage. If you want to see me as another generation, then that’s OK,” Ronaldo said.
“When you talk about a clash between Cristiano and someone else, that’s not how it works. The media always try to hype things up, which is a normal thing, but it’s one team versus another team.”
“You’ve been talking about Lamine a lot and you’re right to do so because he’s very good,” Ronaldo told journalists, adding “but I’d like to talk about the team.
“They’ve got Nico Williams, great midfielders like Pedri and their coach (Luis) de la Fuente is very good, very strong, very disciplined.”