Munich, June 7 (IANS) Ahead of Portugal’s UEFA Nations League final against Spain on Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke on Lamine Yamal as the 17-year-old has taken the footballing world by storm since breaking through as a regular in FC Barcelona’s squad in the past two years.

The winger was a pivotal part of Barcelona’s domestic treble this season and also helped Spain to win the 2024 European Championship. He also scored a brace in the 5-4 win over France in the semifinal of the Nations League.

Ronaldo said the comparisons between the two are not needed, but the only way to help him is to leave him alone.

“It’s always like this. Whenever there is a final, it is Cristiano against someone. You would have to compare Lamine with Vitinha, where there is less of an age difference, but they want to do it with Cristiano. It’s always Cristiano against someone, but it’s not like that. We play one team against another. What we want is to play a good game and win.

“The boy is doing things very, very well. The club and the national team helped him a lot. He is in a conducive environment. But I ask that you let the boy grow up for the sake of football. Let him grow calmly and take the pressure off him. You can help him by leaving him alone because he does not lack talent,” Ronaldo said in the pre-game conference.

Although Yamal has already almost completed club football in terms of trophies, the long wait of Barca fans to win the UEFA Champions League (UCL) continued after Yamal’s Barca were eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals. Ronaldo acknowledged that the Spaniard has a shot at winning the Ballon d’Or but believes winning the UCL is necessary for lifting the Golden Globe.

“In my opinion, the Ballon d’Or should be won by those who stand out and win the Champions League. But there is no consensus. I don’t believe much in individual awards because I know what is being worked on behind the scenes, but the boy (Lamine) has a chance… They are a bit irrelevant because there is not a 100% consensus,” he added.

–IANS

aaa/bsk/