Roberto Martinez has been appointed as the new boss of the Portugal national team and he has outlined his plans for veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo in his new-look setup

New Portugal boss Roberto Martinez insists that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves “respect” as he confirmed that he will be part of his plans for future squads.

Ronaldo’s relationship with boss Fernando Santos reportedly soured during the tournament, with the veteran Portuguese boss now being replaced by Martinez in the dugout. The former Swansea, Wigan and Everton boss – who left the Belgium national team role last month – has now outlined his vision for his new side, including Ronaldo’s role.

“Football decisions have to be taken on the field of play,” Martinez told reporters on Monday. “I’m not an office decision-making coach. So my starting point is to get to all the players and I want to get in touch with them.

“The list of 26 players from the World Cup is my starting point and Cristiano is a player on that list, he has been with the national team for 19 years and he deserves the respect of being able to sit down and talk.

22 Comments

Leave A Reply