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Why Bears TE Colston Loveland has only one catch through two games

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It is understandable that in a game where the Chicago Bears managed just three points, star tight end Colston Loveland had a quiet performance. Where it becomes head-scratching, though, is that it followed a Week 1 outing in which Loveland went without a single catch. That begs the question of whether this is simply a slow start or if there is reason for concern about his season-long outlook.

Entering the season, Loveland would have been among the last tight ends one would expect to tally just a single catch for three yards across two games. He ranks 76th at the position in receiving yards despite the fact that his team exploded for 59 points in the season opener. Mind you, this is a tight end who last year was the fourth-best in yards per route and who closed the campaign on a tear.

Loveland’s rookie season had its peaks and valleys, so perhaps his second year with the Bears will eventually resemble that 2025 picture. Anyone talented enough to rack up 28 catches, 378 yards and two touchdowns in the final four games of his debut season ought to be capable of stringing together a similar stretch a year later, right?

Here is what went wrong for Loveland in the first two games of 2026 and a few reasons why the best is still ahead for the former No. 10 overall draft pick.

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Why Colston Loveland lacks targets through two games

Loveland’s five targets rank 31st most among tight ends. That is an unimaginably low number for a player who commanded 10 or more targets in the final two games of the 2025 regular season and both of the Bears’ playoff contests. The reason behind that downturn appears to be twofold.

First, Loveland is not getting nearly as much separation on his routes this year as he did as a rookie. He generated an average of 3.7 yards of separation in 2025 compared to just 2.1 yards in Weeks 1 and 2. The most logical explanation is that defenses are keying in on him. They had all offseason to dial up coverage schemes, knowing that they would face him early in the year.

What’s more, in the instances where Loveland does break free from his defender, quarterback Caleb Williams does not feed him the ball. Against the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings, on numerous routes where Loveland found himself in open space, Williams had already locked in on or thrown to another receiver, was in escape mode or found himself in the arms of a pass rusher.

Colston Loveland deployed as a pass-blocker in Week 2

It is not as though the Bears scrapped Loveland as a route-runner, but they did utilize him more at the line of scrimmage against the Vikings than in most other games. Loveland took on one of the largest pass-blocking roles of his career against Brian Flores’ vaunted Minnesota defense. His pass-blocking rate, in fact, was higher in Week 2 than at any point in the second half of last season, per PFF.

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This makes quite a bit of sense considering the opponent. Not only does Minnesota dial up blitzes at the highest rate of any defense in the NFL, but it does so by an extreme margin. The Vikings blitzed on 75.3% of pass plays in their first two games, while the next-most aggressive team did so at just 46.6%. Chicago responded by enhancing its protection with Loveland stepping in to aid the offensive line.

Perhaps the Bears overused Loveland as a blocker, though. The most questionable decision in that regard came on the final play of the game. Chicago needed a touchdown, had the ball on the 12-yard line and instead of sending its star tight end to the end zone, it held him back in pass protection. Not only did this take a tall and physical weapon out of play downfield, but it also resulted in Loveland’s assignment getting home for a game-sealing sack of backup quarterback Tyson Bagent.

Loveland’s past blocking rates suggest this was a one-time uptick against an aggressive defense. The result of the final play against the Vikings should also serve as a reminder to Ben Johnson and the coaching staff that the star tight end is best used down the field rather than in the trenches.

The bigger red flag is that Chicago might not trust its offensive line to protect Williams in its toughest matchups. The less time Williams has to operate in the pocket, the less time Loveland has to get downfield. That could hold him back from replicating the tremendous per-route yardage numbers he logged as a rookie.

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Opportunities still abound for Colston Loveland

Loveland’s blocking duties in Week 2 should not cast doubt on his usage moving forward. More likely than not, it was a product of playing against a formidable defensive front. Look no further than the previous week for reassurance about Loveland’s role as a receiver, because he ran a team-high 33 routes against the Panthers. It may not have resulted in a single catch, but Chicago was more adamant about getting Loveland downfield than any other player on the offense.

Not even his reduction in opportunities last week was enough to unseat Loveland as the Bears’ most active route-runner. Below are the Bears’ five leaders in routes run through two games.

  1. Colston Loveland, 61
  2. Rome Odunze, 57
  3. Luther Burden III, 55
  4. Kalif Raymond, 53
  5. Cole Kmet, 32

Two games is a small sample size. After two more weeks, Loveland could look up at the stat sheet and find himself as the Bears’ season-long receiving leader. The fact that Raymond — not Loveland, Odunze nor Burden — is the team’s most productive receiver is likely nothing more than early-season noise.

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American Presidents Cup dominance comes down to 1 word | News

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6 minutes ago

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22 September 2026

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It has been a disappointing stretch for American team golf of late. At the Walker Cup, the Americans blew a massive singles lead to Great Britain and Ireland to lose their first Walker Cup since 2015. Then, the American Solheim Cup team lost 15-13 to the Europeans at Bernardus. Sprinkle in back-to-back Ryder Cup defeats to the Europeans, and there’s no question that American team golf needs some good vibes.

Luckily for the Red, White and Blue, history suggests this week at the 2026 Presidents Cup will provide the pick-me-up the Americans are looking for before they turn their attention to the 2027 Ryder Cup.

The Americans are 13-1-1 in Presidents Cup history. The only time they lost was a 20.5-11.5 shellacking in 1998. Since that defeat, the Americans have gone 11-0-1, including 10 straight wins over the Internationals. Of the past 12 Presidents Cups, only the 2019 and 2015 editions saw the International team keep the final deficit within two points.

Here are the last 12 results since the International team’s lone win:

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2024: U.S. wins 18.5-11.5
2022: U.S. wins 17.5-12.5
2019: U.S. wins 16-14
2017: U.S. wins 19-11
2015: U.S. wins 15.5-14.5
2013: U.S. wins 18.5-15.5
2011: U.S. wins 19-15
2009: U.S. wins 19.5-14.5
2007: U.S. wins 19.5-14.5
2005: U.S. wins 18.5-15.5
2003: Tie
2000: U.S. wins 21.5-10.5

There are a number of reasons the Americans dominate the Presidents Cup in ways they don’t at the Ryder Cup, and all those reasons should remain apparent this week at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. But one in particular will once again glare its head and give the Internationals a massive mountain to climb.

“I think the American side, every time they play, their world ranking hardly ever goes past 20th, whereas the 12th International player is sometimes 60th in the world,” 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel said in 2012 about the depth of the U.S. side. A year later, after the U.S. won 18.5-15.5, International captain Nick Price said the depth of the American side “absolutely” was the difference.

Schwartzel’s analysis from 15 years ago was as true then as it is now. The American roster is always stacked with star players in the top 20-25 of the Official World Golf Rankings and the Data Golf rankings. In 2022, the U.S. had five players in the top 10 of the OWGR and nine in the top 15. Their lowest-ranked player on that team was Kevin Kisner, who was No. 25 at the time. The Internationals’ top player on the 2022 squad, Hideki Matsuyama, was ranked 17th. Their lowest-ranked player was Taylor Pendrith, who was ranked 109th. (It’s important to note that the 2022 Presidents Cup was unusual because it came just after LIV Golf’s arrival, which meant that Cameron Smith, ranked No. 3 in the world at the time, and Joaquin Niemann could not play after joining the rival league, which zapped the Internationals of needed talent.)

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But the story was the same in 2024 when the Americans had the Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13 and 14 golfers in the world, while the Internationals had just one player in the top 15. Max Homa was the lowest-ranked American (25), while the International side stretched to 60 with Mackenzie Hughes.

At Medinah this week, the Americans will have eight players in the top 11 but two outside the top 25: Patrick Cantlay (28) and rookie Jackson Koivun (57). The Internationals, meanwhile, have just one player in the top 15 (Si Woo Kim, 14) and have five outside the top 50, including two outside the top 80 (Nick Taylor and Christiaan Bezuidenhout).

The Americans’ vaunted depth gives them several advantages, but the most important one is that it ensures that their top players don’t have to be dominant forces for the team to succeed. For example, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has gone 3-5-1 in the Presidents Cup, but the Americans have still won both of those contests handily thanks to Cantlay (7-2-1), Schauffele (7-2), Collin Morikawa (6-2) and Jordan Spieth (5-0 in 2022). The Americans’ depth gives them a buffer that allows them to easily withstand one or two of their stars having an off week. The Internationals, on the other hand, don’t have that benefit. They need Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott to rack up points while getting help from players down the roster. But the Internationals haven’t gotten that from their horses. Scott has the most International points in Presidents Cup history, but is 20-28-6 overall. Matsuyama also has a poor record at 9-13-5. That has left the International team facing a problem they don’t have the ability to solve.

For the Internationals to make the Presidents Cup a contest and potentially pull off a historic upset, they need to be able to count on Matsuyama and Scott to deliver at least three to four points each over the four days. If they can get that and Si Woo Kim, who is playing the best golf of anyone on the International side, can also become a pillar, they will be able to give themselves a chance. But if Scott and Matsuyama struggle again, the Internationals will be asking a lot from the likes of Nico Echavarria, Nick Taylor, Bezuidenhout and Ryo Hisatsune in order to keep it close.

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The Americans will once again have the talent and depth edge at Medinah. But they often have that at the Ryder Cup, and the Europeans have found a way to overcome that, routinely sending the Americans into the wilderness to search for answers after head-scratching defeats. The Europeans have a cohesion that the International side is still trying to cultivate. That cohesion has galvanized the Europeans and given them an unquantifiable weapon against the more talented (at least on paper) American side.

The Internationals have said they feel they are building something similar. That’s a more difficult task when you have a team built up of players from five different continents who speak different languages, so it’s taking longer. But they believe they are making progress and know that all it takes is one win, one upset, to turn the Presidents Cup into something different.

“You talk to the Europeans, how much they want to beat the Americans, and there is that rivalry there, you can tell, and you can hear it when they talk about it,” Jason Day said of the Ryder Cup ahead of the 2024 Presidents Cup. “That’s America versus Europe, as well. I feel like the way the guys look at it, I think that’s shifted here. I think they’re very driven and passionate about this tournament now. Like I’m looking at Ben (An) and Tom (Kim) now, like there’s guys that — like the young guys all the way to the top guys.

“When you have experience like Adam Scott, you hear them talk, and I think this is his 11th one, so he’s been on the losing end of those for quite a long time. You can hear how much he wants to win one. I think it’ll only take one. If we can get one, I think that’ll change the tide a little bit.”

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The tide may one day change at the Presidents Cup. But American golf is in need of a win, and its greatest weapon against the Internationals (and history), says they’ll deliver one come Sunday at Medinah.

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Asian Games 2026 LIVE UPDATES Day 3: Cricket- Smriti keeps India in control; IND 118/1 (13 overs) | Asian Games 2026

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22 September 2026

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India’s Day 3 campaign at the Asian Games 2026 has produced a mixed set of results, with the women’s table tennis team advancing to the next round and Sakshi Chaudhary making a winning start in boxing. India’s women’s badminton team, however, bowed out of the team event after a 3-1 quarter-final defeat to Japan.

 

The women’s cricket team is currently facing Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match after winning the toss and opting to bat. India’s men’s kabaddi team also registered a comprehensive 63-31 win over South Korea, while the 10m air rifle mixed team pairing of Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the final after qualifying second.

 

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Shooting remains live in the skeet events, while the men’s badminton team will face Japan in the quarter-final at 11:30 am IST.

 

Asian Games 2026 Day 3: India schedule, live events and results
Time (IST) Sport Event Round/Stage India/Indian athlete(s) Opponent/Details Status/Result
Completed Sepaktakraw Men’s team regu Group B India Malaysia India lost 0-3 vs Malaysia
Completed Esports eFootball Group F India Uzbekistan India play 0-0 draw
Completed Equestrian Dressage Event Fouaad Mirza/Camouflage 38 Multiple Finish 26th
Completed Equestrian Dressage Event Arjan Nagra/Cooley Goodwood Multiple Finish 23rd
Completed Equestrian Dressage Event Ashish Limaye/Willy Be Dun Multiple Finish 13th
Completed Badminton Women’s team Quarter-final India Japan Japan beat India 3-1
Live Shooting Men’s skeet Individual qualification and team final, Day 2 Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Khan, Bhavtegh Singh Gill Multiple Awaited
Live Shooting Women’s skeet Individual qualification and team final, Day 2 Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Maheshwari Chauhan Multiple Awaited
Completed Table tennis Women’s team Round of 16 India Thailand India beat Thailand 3-2
Live Fencing Men’s individual foil, women’s individual epee Pool bouts; knockouts later Sachin, Hemash Singh, Mitva Chaudhari, Tanishka Khatri Multiple Men’s individual foil- Hemansh, Sachin elmintaded in RO32; Women’s Epee- Mitva eliminated in round of 32
Completed Kabaddi Men’s team Group A India South Korea India beat Korea 63-31
Completed Soft tennis Women’s singles Group D Aadhya Tiwari Alisha Ziegler, Thailand Lost 1-4
Completed Shooting 10m air rifle mixed team Qualification Elavenil Valarivan/Parth Mane Multiple Finished second, qualified for gold medal match
Completed Wushu Women’s nanquan Final Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam Multiple Finished 9th
Completed Soft tennis Men’s singles Group D Jay Meena Hussain Arain, Pakistan Won 4-1
Completed Swimming Men’s 1500m freestyle Final B Aryan Nehra Multiple Finished 4th
Completed Karate Men’s kumite -84kg Semi-final Chetan Bhatt Mohammad Alja’Fari, Jordan Lost (lost in bronze medal match)
Completed Swimming Men’s 4x100m medley relay Heats Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston, Dhanush Suresh Multiple India qualifies for final
Completed Shooting 10m air rifle mixed team Gold-medal match Elavenil Valarivan/Parth Mane Multiple Finish 4th in the final
Completed Boxing Women’s 51kg Round of 32 Sakshi Chaudhary Aira Villegas, Philippines Sakshi beat Aira 5-0 (Into RO16)
Completed Karate Women’s kumite -55kg Round of 16 Alisha Choudhary Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani, Indonesia Alisha lost 1-6
Completed Soft tennis Men’s singles Group C Aryan Thakur Bold-erdene Altangerel, Mongolia Aryan win 4-0
Completed Karate Women’s kumite -55kg Quarter-final Alisha Choudhary Subject to qualification Did not qualify
10:30 a.m. Boxing Men’s 55kg Round of 32 Jadumani Singh Chandra Bahadur Thapa, Nepal Awaited
Completed Soft tennis Women’s singles Group D Aadhya Tiwari Kainaat Shallwani, Pakistan India beat Pakistan 4-0 (Fails to qualify for Q/F)
Live Cricket Women’s team Gold-medal match India Sri Lanka India win the toss; opt to bat
Completed Karate Men’s kumite -84kg Final Chetan Bhatt Subject to qualification Did not qualify
Completed Karate Women’s kumite -55kg Bronze-medal match Alisha Choudhary Subject to qualification Did not qualify
11:30 a.m. Badminton Men’s team Quarter-final India Japan Awaited
11:59 a.m. Wushu Women’s nandao Final Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam Multiple Awaited
12:00 p.m. Equestrian Jumping Event Fouaad Mirza/Camouflage 38, Arjan Nagra/Cooley Goodwood, Ashish Limaye/Willy Be Dun Multiple Awaited
12:00 p.m. Soft tennis Men’s singles Group C Aryan Thakur Chen Po-Yi, Chinese Taipei Awaited
Completed Karate Men’s kumite -84kg Final Chetan Bhatt Subject to qualification Did not qualify
Completed Karate Women’s kumite -55kg Gold-medal match Alisha Choudhary Subject to qualification Did not qualify
2:00 p.m. Esports eFootball Group F India Mongolia Awaited
Around 3:15 p.m. Wushu Women’s 60kg Quarter-final Roshibina Devi Man Sin Chu, Macao, China Awaited
3:30 p.m. Hockey Men’s team Pool A India Sri Lanka Awaited
Around 3:45 p.m. Wushu Men’s 56kg Quarter-final Aryan Saydullo Abdurashitov, Uzbekistan Awaited

Cricket: India bat first against Sri Lanka in gold-medal match

 

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India’s women’s cricket team is currently facing Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.

 

India won the toss and elected to bat first. The team reached the final after defeating Bangladesh in the semi-final and is now fighting for the gold medal.

 

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Shooting: Elavenil and Parth finish fourth

 

Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team gold-medal match.

 

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The Indian pair had earlier finished second in qualification to book their place in the final but could not secure a podium finish.

 

India’s skeet campaign is still underway, with Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill competing in the men’s event. Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan are in action in the women’s skeet competition.

 

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Badminton: Women’s team knocked out by Japan

 

India’s women’s badminton team suffered a 3-1 defeat to Japan in the quarter-final and were eliminated from the team event.

 

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India’s men’s team will face Japan in their quarter-final at 11:30 am IST.

 

Table tennis: India beat Thailand 3-2

 

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India’s women’s table tennis team advanced from the round of 16 after beating Thailand 3-2.

 

The Indian team remains in contention in the women’s team event as the knockout stages continue.

 

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Boxing: Sakshi advances after 5-0 win

 

Sakshi Chaudhary made a winning start to her women’s 51kg campaign, defeating the Philippines’ Aira Villegas 5-0 in the round of 32.

 

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She has advanced to the round of 16.

 

Jadumani Singh is scheduled to begin his men’s 55kg campaign against Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa at 10:30 am IST.

 

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Karate: Chetan and Alisha miss out on medals

 

India’s karate campaign has ended without a medal for Chetan Bhatt and Alisha Choudhary.

 

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Chetan lost his men’s kumite -84kg semi-final against Jordan’s Mohammad Alja’Fari and subsequently lost in the bronze-medal match. He therefore did not qualify for the final.

 

Alisha was beaten 1-6 by Indonesia’s Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women’s kumite -55kg round of 16 and did not qualify for the quarter-final or subsequent medal rounds.

 

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Wushu: Langlentombi finishes ninth

 

Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finished ninth in the women’s nanquan final. She is scheduled to return for the women’s nandao final at 11:59 am IST.

 

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Roshibina Devi will face Macao, China’s Man Sin Chu in the women’s 60kg quarter-final around 3:15 pm, while Aryan will take on Uzbekistan’s Saydullo Abdurashitov in the men’s 56kg quarter-final around 3:45 pm.

 

Kabaddi: India beat South Korea 63-31

 

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India’s men’s kabaddi team registered a convincing 63-31 victory over South Korea in their Group A match.

 

Equestrian: Indian riders complete dressage

 

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India’s three dressage riders have completed their events.

 

Ashish Limaye finished 13th on Willy Be Dun, while Arjan Nagra finished 23rd with Cooley Goodwood. Fouaad Mirza and Camouflage 38 finished 26th.

 

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The trio is also scheduled to compete in jumping later in the day.

 

EFootball: India draw 0-0 with Uzbekistan

 

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India played out a 0-0 draw against Uzbekistan in the eFootball Group F match.

 

The Indian team will face Mongolia in its next Group F fixture at 2 pm IST.

 

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Fencing: Hemansh and Sachin eliminated in round of 32

 

India’s men’s individual foil campaign has suffered an early setback, with Hemansh and Sachin eliminated in the round of 32.

 

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Mitva Chaudhari and Tanishka Khatri are representing India in the women’s individual epee competition, with pool bouts and subsequent knockout rounds scheduled.

 

Soft tennis: Mixed results for India

 

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Aryan Thakur registered a 4-0 win over Mongolia’s Bold-erdene Altangerel in the men’s singles Group C match.

 

Jay Meena also won his Group D contest, defeating Pakistan’s Hussain Arain 4-1.

 

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In the women’s singles, Aadhya Tiwari beat Pakistan’s Kainaat Shallwani 4-0 but failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. She had earlier lost 1-4 to Thailand’s Alisha Ziegler.

 

Swimming: India qualify for medley final

 

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India’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team of Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston and Dhanush Suresh qualified for the final after competing in the heats.

 

Aryan Nehra finished fourth in Final B of the men’s 1500m freestyle.

 

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India began its campaign with a 13-1 win over Indonesia and will look to maintain its strong start against Sri Lanka. 

Follow all live updates from India’s Asian Games 2026 Day 3 campaign here

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Jameis Winston sinks Giants with forgettable performance in relief of Jaxson Dart

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47 minutes ago

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22 September 2026

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Jameis Winston‘s initial thoughts when he first saw Jaxson Dart go down to injury in the first quarter on Monday night were just to pray.

“Lifting him up, hoping that everything would be fine,” Winston said.

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Things, of course, didn’t end up being fine for Dart and the Giants though as the young quarterback would be ruled out for the contest due to a knee injury.

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So Winston was quickly thrust into the QB1 spot, and it didn’t quite go as planned.

“We didn’t execute,” head coach John Harbaugh said.

Winston certainly looked the part of a backup as he missed open receiver after open receiver, under throwing several seemingly makable throws.

He completed just 11-of-27 passes for 111 yards and threw a bad interception in the red zone, forcing a throw on third-and-seven to end what was shaping up to be a successful drive.

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“We had one-on-one coverage,” the QB explained. “They got pressure up the middle and I gave our guy a chance and the corner slipped underneath — he saw the ball coming out of my hand before the receiver and made a play on it.”

Unfortunately for Winston that became a common theme throughout the night.

New York failed in their only other red zone opportunity for the contest, putting just six points on the board while also finishing an ugly 3-for-14 on third down.

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“We have to execute better,” Winston said. “We are focusing on being in better down-and-distance — we were in third-and-long a lot, so we have to execute better — I have to execute better on first and second down.”

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And the Giants will certainly need him to be better very quickly, as Dart is expected to be sidelined for about 2-to-4 weeks, sources tell SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes.

While Dart may push to be back sooner, that likely means Winston will be back as QB1 in Week 3 against the Titans.

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“My role is to keep him lifted up, keep this team motivated and put this game behind us,” Winston said. “Find ways to be solution-oriented and have a better week of preparation, a better game of efficiency, and to get a win.”

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“He’s the hardest worker” – Nacho names Real Madrid star who is receiving ‘unfair treatment’

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22 September 2026

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Former Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez named attacker Vinicius Junior as the player who receives unfair treatment despite playing a key role in the club’s recent success.

Vinicius, 26, has played over 380 times across competitions for Los Blancos since arriving from Flamengo in the summer of 2018, contributing 129 goals and 103 assists and winning three La Liga and two UEFA Champions League titles.

The Brazil international has had a slow start to the season, though, scoring once in eight games across competitions. Having signed a contract extension this summer, Vinicius has attracted criticism for his underwhelming returns. Nevertheless, Nacho lauded the Brazilian for being the hardest worker in the team (as per Cadena SER):

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“Vinicius has been getting unfair treatment lately. He’s won so much at Real Madrid and given so much to the club. Every player has moments when they’re below their best.

“Besides, I know Vinicius personally, and I have no doubt that he’s the hardest worker, for sure. We need to find a way to get them both to perform at their peak during the most important part of the season.”

Nacho and Vinicius played together at the Santiago Bernabeu for six seasons, between 2018 and 2024, before the Spaniard left for Al-Qadsiah.

Nacho Fernandez lauds Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo

2016-17 UEFA Champions League - Atletico de Madrid vs Real Madrid - Source: Getty2016-17 UEFA Champions League - Atletico de Madrid vs Real Madrid - Source: Getty
2016-17 UEFA Champions League – Atletico de Madrid vs Real Madrid – Source: Getty

Nacho Fernandez had words of praise for Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s still going strong despite turning 41 earlier this year. The Portugal captain was at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2009 and 2018 before leaving for Juventus.

Ronaldo scored a club record 450 goals in just 438 games across competitions, winning two La Liga and four UEFA Champions League titles, including an unprecedented three-peat in the competition between 2016 and 2018.

Now at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he arrived on a free transfer in December 2022, Ronaldo has amassed over 100 goals for his side. Nacho lauded Ronaldo for still playing at a high level (as per CADENA SER):

“What Cristiano does is out of this world; it’s crazy to reach that age still competing. I’m definitely not going to reach that age.”

Ronaldo won four of his five Ballon d’Or awards while at the Santiago Bernabeu and became the first player to win the Champions League five times, which he achieved in 2018.

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