Earlier this week, ex-Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez hit out at Luis de la Fuente’s decision to exile him from Spain contention after his summer move to Saudi Arabia. The veteran defender stated his belief that he has been singled out in this situation, which he believes to be unfair.
On Wednesday, de la Fuente issued his response during an interview with Radio MARCA. He explained that the decision to no longer consider Nacho for selection is with the future in mind.
“I hold Nacho in very high esteem, he is a fantastic footballer and a very good person, but you have to make decisions thinking about the present and the future. Right now we estimate that another player will come with total normality.”
It is easy to understand that Nacho would probably not be in contention for Spain when the 2026 World Cup rolls around, even if he was in top form in Saudi Arabia until then. Furthermore, La Roja already have many top-class central defenders, including the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Pau Torres, Robin Le Normand, Pau Cubarsi and Dani Vivian – just to name a few.