Earlier this week, ex-Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez hit out at Luis de la Fuente’s decision to ban him from the Spanish side following his summer move to Saudi Arabia. The veteran defender stated that he believes he was being singled out in this situation, which he believes is unfair.
On Wednesday, de la Fuente gave his response during an interview with Radio MARCA. He explained that the decision to no longer make Nacho eligible for selection is with the future in mind.
“I have a lot of respect for Nacho, he is a fantastic footballer and a very good person, but you have to make decisions thinking about the present and the future. At this moment we estimate that another player will come with a completely normal situation.”
It is easy to understand that Nacho would probably not feature for Spain when the 2026 World Cup looms, even though he has been in top form in Saudi Arabia up to that point. Furthermore, La Roja already has many top-class centre-backs, including Aymeric Laporte, Pau Torres, Robin Le Normand, Pau Cubarsi and Dani Vivian – to name just a few.
