Nacho Fernandez on Ballon d’Or, Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid’s behaviour and Spain exile – ‘I’m the only one’

Former Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez has questioned Spain manager Luis de la Fuente’s decision to leave him out of the national team since Euro 2024. The 34-year-old moved to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Qadsiah after leaving Los Blancos at the end of his contract in the summer, but is the only player who has not featured for La Roja again since their triumph in Germany.

In an interview where Nacho noted that he would not be returning to Real Madrid in spite of their injury crisis, the veteran defender also noted that unlike his former club, he would have gone to the Ballon d’Or gala at the end of October.

“I’m not going to get involved in the club’s decision, the club will have its reasons. I honestly would have gone to the gala. I think the problem is that the path had been created for Vinicius to win it and it must not be easy to manage that you practically have it in your hand and that at the last moment they tell you no. It must be a very hard stomach. It is very easy to tell you from the outside ‘yes, I would go for sure’ but you have to be there too.”

Real Madrid decided not to go to Paris after finding out that Vinicius Junior would not be winning it, with Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez instead picking up the award. Nacho would have given it to the Brazilian though.

“Without any doubt I would have given the Ballon d’Or to Vinicius. For me right now it is number one. I am very happy for Rodri, as a teammate, as the player he is and what a good guy he is. “I don’t take away from Rodri, who also deserved it,” he told Cadena Cope.

“I wrote to Vini and told him that this is going to make him stronger. I have not seen any player who has been able to overcome so many difficulties. I am sure he will win it in the future.”

He also felt that calls for the head of Carlo Ancelotti in the Spanish capital were shortsighted.

“If there is a coach who has credit and who deserves respect to handle a situation like this, it is Ancelotti. He has won everything at Real Madrid. He is the ideal guy, when there is a small crisis he gives peace of mind to the dressing room. It’s not like it’s a debacle right now either. LaLiga is close enough to fight for it, there are many Champions League games left…”

“There are very good people in attack and it is not easy to fit those pieces together. As soon as they hit the key, they can be an unstoppable team.”

One of the main headlines was his frustration with the Spain coach, who has not called on Nacho since their celebrations of the Euros.

“Of all of us who won the Euros, the only one who was left out due to a technical decision was me. It surprised me a little. Since we won the Euros I have not spoken to De la Fuente again. I would have been excited to go. It seems a little strange to me. There are other colleagues who changed teams and countries and have continued going. It’s a question for the coach, I haven’t had any problems with him but I haven’t spoken again either.”

Nacho is referring to Joselu Mato’s case, who has moved to Qatar, but was still in the September and October squads. He has been left out of the most recent call-up though. In Nacho’s case, it does not help that Pau Cubarsi is performing well for Barcelona, and ultimately, de la Fuente may be wondering whether Nacho will be part of La Roja’s plans for the 2026 World Cup in a position in which he has plenty of alternatives.