Roberto Martinez: Ronaldo was not yet ready to leave the national team

Coach Roberto Martinez said this Wednesday that Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, has shown a willingness to be part of the Portuguese football team’s new cycle and that he is not yet ready to leave the team.

“When I arrived, I personally spoke to all the players. Cristiano Ronaldo was not ready to leave the national team. He told me he wanted to be part of the new cycle and that’s why he was included in the March lineup. goals and was a real leader,” said Roberto Martinez in statements from the British program talkSport.

In addition to goals, the 49-year-old coach emphasized the importance of captain Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room of the national team.

“He has an experience that no other player in world football has. This is someone who can play 200 caps and is very useful in the dressing room,” he said.

In the same program, Martinez suggested that striker Rafael Leão, who plays for Milan, deserves “another role” in the national team.

“He plays instinctively. He has many talents. We need to give him another role in the national team. This is our responsibility,” he said.

In Euro 2024 qualifiers, Portugal will host Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 17 at the Lush Stadium in Lisbon at 19:45 and travel to Iceland to face the local team three days later at the Laugardalsvellur Stadium in Reykjavik at 19:00:45 ( Lisbon time).

At the start of qualifying, in two games that marked Martinez’s all-time debut at the helm, Portugal beat Liechtenstein 4-0 at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon and traveled to Luxembourg to score 6-0.

Team quinas lead Group J with six points, followed by Slovakia with four points and Bosnia and Iceland with three points. Luxembourg with one point and Liechtenstein without points are in last place.

Only the top two players in the group qualify for the Euro 2024 finals.