Spain coach says he wouldn't trade his players for Ronaldo, is wrong

Spain manager Fernando Hierro witnessed one of the most memorable individual performances in World Cup history on Friday. Cristiano Ronaldo left an entire planet stupefied by his brilliance, and left Spain with just one point from its 2018 World Cup opener.

But Hierro, apparently, doesn’t seem to think Ronaldo is a particularly useful player.

“I am very proud of my players,” Hierro said after the thrilling 3-3 draw. “I would not trade even one of them for Cristiano.”

Oh yeah, Fernando? You wouldn’t give up one of your many relatively interchangeable midfielders for the man who just singlehandedly robbed you of two points? The second-best player on the planet? The one who can do this?

Of course, Hierro might not actually stand by that statement if you offered him an actual trade in private. It’s an understandable statement in a postgame context. But if he would stand by it … uh, he’s wrong.

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell, and on Facebook.

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