Roberto Martinez is the new head coach of Portugal and he will be in charge of the national team until 2026.
Martinez confirmed how happy he was moments after signing his contract. He has been out of work since December 2022 after Belgium got knocked out of the World Cup.
He admitted that the Portuguese fans have great expectations after his appointment but he is hoping that he will work out things with the national team.
The big question however is if he will give Cristiano Ronaldo a chance to play other international matches with the talisman's future in the squad being uncertain.
He played cool when reporters wanted to find out if Ronaldo will be a part of his squad when he finally takes over Portugal.
“Cristiano Ronaldo deserves respect after 19 years as part of the national team, we’re gonna speak about that together soon," said Martinez.
Ronaldo started from the bench in some of Portugal's matches at the World Cup tournament as his country hunted for the golden trophy.
Portugal has proved to have talent, especially with the young players on board and Martinez could use them to win trophies.
Ronaldo has won two trophies at the national level and he won't mind adding a third one to his name when called upon by the head coach.
Martinez had a bunch of old players with the Belgian national squad and they didn't perform well.
Pepe and Ronaldo are old. Will he make the same mistake of fielding them?