‘Leave him alone’ – Cristiano Ronaldo urges people not to put pressure on Lamine Yamal | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged people to leave Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal alone and not put too much pressure on him.

The pair will face off on Sunday when Ronaldo’s Portugal side take on Spain in the final of the Nations League.

Yamal, 17, has already helped Spain to a European Championship in 2024, but 40-year-old Ronaldo says the Barcelona star must be given space to “grow”.

Speaking ahead of the game, Ronaldo said: “This kid has been doing things really well.

“He’s in a club that helps him very much and a national team that helps him very much. It’s a very good atmosphere for him to show his qualities which are very big.

“But what I really ask for him, and you to do, is to let him grow. Not to put him under so much pressure, 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 in his own way and enjoy a talent like this for many years and that’s what I hope.

“I would like to take pressure off him, leave him alone, and it’s something that the media can help him develop his career. Leave him alone because he has plenty of talent.”

Ronaldo also burst onto the scene as a teenager, signing for Manchester United as an 18-year-old with huge expectations on him.

Asked if he had any advice for Yamal, Ronaldo said: “I like to give advice to whoever wants to listen but in private face to face.

“He has big potential. He will need to improve, of course, and in four or five years we will see the best of him. He has the quality to be somebody like Mbappe, Vitinha, Dembele, other Spanish players who are up and coming too.”