In Riyadh, Ronaldo and Martinez meet? The mission for the Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 is underway under Portugal’s manager.

In Riyadh, Ronaldo and Martinez meet? The mission for the Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 is underway under Portugal's manager.
Ronaldo and Martinez meet

According to reports, Portugal’s new head coach Roberto Martinez met with iconic striker Cristiano Ronaldo and other members of his team in Riyadh while they were in the Saudi capital for the Spanish Super Cup.

Roberto Martinez, the new head coach of Portugal, has a challenging job ahead of him. The Spaniard was recently appointed in Fernando Santos’ stead following his team’s poor performance at the Qatar World Cup 2022, with victory at the Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 being the nation’s main priorities.

Martinez, who was named the new manager of Portugal last Monday, had made it plain from the beginning that he wanted to “sit down” with star player Cristiano Ronaldo. The head coach of Portugal apparently followed through on his promise and met the new Al-Nassr star in Riyadh, along with a number of other Portuguese players, for the Spanish Super Cup.

Ronaldo and Martinez allegedly met while the Portugal manager was visiting Riyadh, according to the Spanish news agency MARCA. The 37-year-old legend’s position as captain, player, or in another capacity is anticipated to be decided by the Spaniard in the upcoming days. After being sent to the bench in Qatar last month, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who had declared he wanted to participate at Euro 2024 last year, will be eager to discover his fate.

Martinez made it clearly apparent that his first task as Portugal’s new head coach would be to talk to the players before heading out onto the field for some football action. He travelled to Riyadh to see Portuguese athletes competing in the Spanish Super Cup between Real Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, and Betis, as well as Ronaldo.

Valencia shared pictures of Martinez with Portugal’s Thierry Correia and Andre Almeida on Wednesday. “Roberto Martinez, the manager of Portugal, visited Valencia at the Riyadh concentration hotel (Saudi Arabia). Our coach Gennaro Gattuso welcomed the Spanish trainer, who then spoke briefly with the Portuguese @thierry jr14 and @andrealmeida.70 “The club stated this in an Instagram post.

Martinez met with Betis players Rui Silva and William Carvalho, who recently shared a photo with Ronaldo, according to the Portuguese publication Maisfutebol. In the caption of his post, the Portugal player stated, “Duty’s in Riyadh.”

While the details of what happened between Martinez and Ronaldo are still unknown, there is no doubt that the Portugal manager’s prime priority would have been a thorough discussion of the talisman’s function. What Martinez has in store for the illustrious striker, who has 118 goals in 196 appearances for his nation, will only become clear with time.

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