It is not that easy of a decision. He was born and raised in Spain. He has played for Spain at the youth level and probably developed bonds with his teammates. He has played well at Valencia so the Spaniards on that team along with staff and fans are probably encouraging him to play for Spain. He does have Colombian parents and family of course who are probably egging him on to play for Colombia. No matter what, his decision won't really be final either this month. If he decides to go to the Colombian Camp he can still play for Spain cause it is just friendlies. If he plays for Spain he can still switch to Colombia because of the new rules that say as long as he is not playing in a Euro or World Cup after his 21st Birthday he can do one-time switch to a team he was eligible for. So not only is it a very tough decision we probably won't have closure for a while unless he decides to play and he has his paperwork done in time for the Copa America. Then it will be a sure thing for us but I am not banking on that.
if we play him in a Copa America or a qualifier then he is cup tied? I know friendlies don't count but pretty sure official tourneys like that would count towards cup timing him with us. I want him but not like he is a #9 that we desperately need or a top goalie prospect either
If he plays for us in the Copa America or in Qualifying he is ours as long as he filled out his one-time switch paperwork and it is approved by FIFA. Once you do a one-time switch you can never go back. If he plays for us in official matches and he did not file the paperwork properly then we may have a points deductions case on our hands. So we better not play him unless we know for sure what his status is.
I know this was half jokin' but Ansu Fati is not elite and he was called up wasn't he? I mean they thought he would be elite but he has not lived up to potential yet.
I’d cup tie him if he was an option barca need money and they had that 16 year old who is out of this world they rather give minutes to
I am more worried about how old our coaches are I didn’t know Rueda/ Bolillo are the same age. New coaches don’t really get shots then are replaced by career losers tho also on teams for giving a coach 3-4 games before firing them
And as expected he has been called up by Spain's U21 and accepted the call. The War for him is still not officially over yet but Spain seems to have won this battle.
Still keep an eye out though. If he feels he is not being given the chance he deserves for the Senior team he can still switch. It has happened before with many countries and players in scenarios like this.
yea I don't know if I want him. Dude wouldn't start here and def not starting for Spain. He still picked their U21 over our SNT!!!! FK HIM.
I understand that sentiment and can empathize with the fans saying they only want players who want to play for Colombia 100%. I just think at his age it was a very difficult decision and he still has the right to change his mind.
Meh not sure for players in this position it makes sense to fully commit at this stage. Obviously I want him playing for us, but these things can be complicated and lots of players make decisions they regret later so unless you truly know which team you want take more time when you're this young and get more information.
I can never really understand Afro players accept call-ups for Spain. That country has a history of not appreciating those types of players or under utilizing them.
Nobody has mentioned this yet but I wonder want Cristhian and his family are thinking about last night's result.
that our starting cbs are 24… he might not have a shot to start here so better to wait on his decison again if he doesn’t want us we have plenty of young Cbs even Sanchez isn’t that old if he was a #9 , GK or Lb then I’d commit seppuku over This but not a position we lack or ever lacked other when pinto was coach and was just an idiot calling shit cbs
If he doesn't think he can start for us, you think he thinks he's gonna start for Spain? Spain has a 16 year old who is starting for Barca and has been the man of the match in 3 straight games and is going to be a stud for years, Spain constantly pumps out talent. Lucemi is good, Cuesta is pretty good but he's still playing in Belgium and never played in a big league, I don't think he's worrying about not starting for us. He's a big talent, if he turns us down its probably because he thinks he has a good shot to be in the mix with a team that has a good chance at challenging for world cups and Euro's which makes sense.
Tbf to them they are playing 16 and 17 year olds at the highest level. We struggle to give game time to 20 year olds
It is being reported that Cristhian will be called up by Spain for the Olympics. Does not officially cap-tie him but it makes it a bit more difficult for him to switch if he does well and builds more of a rapport and chemistry with all of his Spanish teammates. Probably would be less likely for him to jump ship to us if he is successful at that level. and gets a Gold. But we shall see.