Lamine Yamal's true feelings on Cristiano Ronaldo as he shows where heart lies
Lamine Yamal's Spain will go head-to-head with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final, and the 17-year-old has made his true feelings about the icon clear
Lamine Yamal has labelled Cristiano Ronaldo a 'legend,' but he will ignore niceties and focus on victory when his Spain meets Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final. The 17-year-old phenom inspired his national side to an enthralling 5-4 semi-final victory over France on Thursday, scoring a second-half brace and sealing a spot in Sunday's final.
Joining them in the Munich showpiece will be Portugal, who bested Germany 2-1 in their semi-final matchup on Wednesday. The ever-talismanic Ronaldo scored his 137th international goal in the match, tapping home the winner in the 68th minute.
The final will mark the first occasion that the iconic Ronaldo and prodigious Yamal have faced one another. The 40-year-old is still plying his trade with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, while his upcoming adversary is starring for Barcelona.
When the teenager was posed a question about his fabled opponent, Yamal showed Ronaldo respect, but indicated that his eyes will firmly be on a Spanish triumph and not elsewhere.
"Cristiano is a legend and we all have a lot of respect for him, but I will do my job, which is to win the match," Yamal told reporters after Spain's victory against France.
"We know what people expect from us. We have to keep winning. The hardest thing in football is to win and win, always win. And that is what we are going to try."
The youngster showed off his impeccable attitude further when he opened up about the mindset he heads into big matchups with, admitting he likes to do his talking on the field.
"I always tell my mum that when there are big games, I'm going to give my all, that's what motivates me and what I play football for, what I get up in the morning for," he added. "The important thing is to talk on the pitch."
Yamal's opponent, Ronaldo, has mirrored the teenager's praise and admitted eight months ago that the Barcelona-born forward would lead a new generation of superstars.
"He's got a huge potential," Ronaldo stated on his UR YouTube channel, speaking about Yamal in 2024. "I see a lot of talent. But let's see during his journey what's going to happen.
"I think he'll make it. He will be the best player of this new generation. He needs luck because he is very young. I hope he doesn't have any problems. He is in a context that helps him a lot. Spain's national team is really good."
Much like Yamal, however, any compliments will go out the window when Ronaldo's Portugal line up on Sunday, and the icon's coach, Roberto Martinez, has urged his players to emulate the personality of their Germany win in the final.
"We need to enjoy the victory – we won for the first time in a while against Germany. Tactically we were exceptional and our commitment helped... it was a team victory," manager Martinez stated. "Now we can recover and evaluate. We want another performance with personality in this shirt."
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