Spanish Roberto Martinez, the new coach of the Portuguese national team, pledged to respect the history of captain Cristiano Ronaldo with the team.
Spaniard Martinez, 49, left as coach of the Belgian national team, following his sudden exit from the first round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Martinez assumed the position of coach of the Portuguese national team following the resignation of coach Fernando Santos, five days following Portugal’s exit from the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Martinez said on Monday: I would like to talk to everyone, the World Cup list of 26 players will be my starting point, and Cristiano Ronaldo was part of it.
He added: Ronaldo has been with the national team for 19 years and deserves our respect by sitting and talking with him. We want to get to know all the players and Cristiano is one of them.
He concluded by saying: My mission is to try to give all the players the opportunity while respecting the individuals who are already with the national team, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo had moved to Al-Nasr Saudi Arabia, with a contract that extends to 2025.
