Cristiano Ronaldo sends clear Lamine Yamal message after winning Nations League duel | OneFootball

Ronaldo has also made injury revelation after dramatic Nations League final triumph over Spain

Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed Lamine Yamal as a “phenomenon” while calling for the football world to “leave him alone”.

Ronaldo, whose Portugal side beat Yamal’s Spain on penalties in the Nations League final on Sunday, was full of praise for the 17-year-old, who started in both the semi-final and final.

He scored twice in La Roja’s dramatic 5-4 win over France in Stuttgart.

Speaking after Sunday's game, Ronaldo made a prediction that the teenager would go on to win the lot, in a similar fashion to himself.

“He is going to win many titles, collective and individual,” Ronaldo said.

“He is only 17 years old. I repeat: he is a boy with a lot of room for progression.

Yamal’s Spain lost to Ronaldo and Portugal on penalties in the Nations League final in Munich on Sunday night

AFP via Getty Images

“He’s a phenomenon, but we have to leave him alone, that’s what I’m asking.

“He has a very long career ahead of him and he will surely win the Nations League many times.”

Ronaldo, who is 23 years Yamal’s senior, said that the young winger already “knows better” than he does.

Yamal was a key cog in Spain’s Euro 2024-winning campaign last summer, when Luis de la Fuente’s side beat England 2-1 in the final.

Yamal played seven times in the tournament, scoring a wonderful goal in the semi-final victory over France, and supplementing that with four assists.

“He knows better than me - I’m not a coach - what the team needs,” Ronaldo continued.

“He has already won, he has won several things with Spain. What else do you want me to tell you? If the coach made the decision, it was because he thought it was the best thing to improve his team.”

Ronaldo went off late in normal time against Spain, unable to play a part in the extra 30 minutes or take a penalty in the shootout.

He has since revealed that he exacerbated an unspecified injury during the pre-match warm-up in Munich, but shook it off to start.

“I had already felt it during the warm-up, I had been feeling it for some time,” Ronaldo said. “But for the national team, if I had to break a leg, I would.

“It’s a title, I had to play and I gave my all, I went as far as I could. I helped with a goal.”