‘Leave him alone’: Cristiano Ronaldo backs Ballon d’Or hopeful against media pressure
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has demanded that the media stay out of the way of football’s most exciting young talent in order for him to build a career unhindered.
Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Ronaldo knows a thing or two about developing as a footballer in the pressure of the media spotlight. The 40-year-old is the record appearance maker and goalscorer in international men’s football and has enjoyed a huge amount of success in a glittering club career.
While many of his trophies were won as a Real Madrid player, Ronaldo is an admirer of the teenage winger tearing up the record books in Europe in the Blaugrana of Barcelona.
Lamine Yamal, 17, is the hottest property in the world game thanks to his dazzling performances for his club and growing influence from the right wing in a Spain shirt.
The young phenom has already won La Liga twice and helped lead Spain to glory in the European Championship last year, collecting the Young Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament awards in Germany, where Spain defeated Gareth Southgate’s England in the final.
Yamal is expected to go on to even bigger and better things. His displays have unavoidably made him a Ballon d’Or candidate years before his time but Ronaldo believes the Barcelona star must be allowed to get on with it free of exaggerated expectations.
“What I really ask for him [is for] you to let him grow, not to put him under so much pressure,” Ronaldo told the media via Hayters.
“[It’s] for the good of football, so we can enjoy a talent like this for many years. We need to leave him alone. We need to let him grow his own way and enjoy a talent like this for many years, and that’s what I hope.
“So I would like to take the pressure off him, leave him alone, and it’s something that the media… that’s the way the media can help him develop his career.
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“Leave him alone because he’s got plenty of talent.”
Ronaldo is expected to be able to observe Yamal’s talent at close quarters on Sunday, when he leads Portugal out for the Nations League final against Yamal and Spain in Munich.
The veteran’s goal against Germany completed a comeback to set up the all-Iberian final, while Yamal was outstanding yet again and scored twice in Spain’s baffling 5-4 semi-final win over France.
Spain will be playing in the Nations League final for the third time and the winning team on Sunday will become the competition’s first-ever multiple champions.
Portugal defeated the Netherlands in the first final in 2018-19 but Spain have appeared in every final since, losing to France in 2020-21 before beating Croatia in a penalty shoot-out in 2023-23.
