Ronaldo to play for Spain?

[itszamora]

Notwithstanding the April Fools hoax covered by the OP, Franz Puskas played 85 times for Hungary and 4 times for Spain.

Alfredo di Stefano can top Ferenc Puskas, he managed to play for Argentina, Colombia and Spain.

 

[User removed 4]

Notwithstanding the April Fools hoax covered by the OP, Franz Puskas played 85 times for Hungary and 4 times for Spain.

Didnt Alfredo Di Stefano play for Argentina and Spain as well ?

 

[Rookie]

Where did you get this rubbish from

 

[Storer 68]

Apparently so. Spain are willing to pay Portugal £160 million as Ronaldo can pass as a Spanish citizen? Shows there isn't much loyalty in football anymore if it happens.

Not the first time the Spaniards have done this though/.

Alfredo di Stefano was the greatest player of his generation in the early to mid 1960s. Captained Real Madrid to seven consecutive European Cup wins.

Only problem was he already was an Argentinian international. The Spanish FA and fascist government permited him to become a Spanish national and hey presto...........

For the 1954 World Cup, Argentina did not enter and FIFA declared Di Stéfano was not eligible to play because he had previously been capped by both Argentina and Colombia.[citation needed]

He acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956, and played four World Cup qualifying matches for Spain in 1957, but the team failed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup.

In 1961, Di Stéfano (36) who had already won 5 European Cups, helped Spain qualify for the World Cup of 1962

 

[Storer 68]

I don't think that can happen. Don't FIFA'S rules stop you from representing two countries?

The exceptions to the rule that I can think of are that a player can go on to represent a successor state (i.e. people that have played for Sudan can now play for the new country 'South Sudan'). Or if the original country that the player represented ceases to exist (people that played for Czechoslovakia went on to play for the Czech Republic or Slovakia). Clearly this is not the case with Portugal.

Not necessarily....................This is BIZARRE

Robert (Bobby) Frederick Chelsea Moore, who was born in Barking, Essex, who earned 108 England caps between 1962 and 1973, all as a West Ham United player, and who captained England 70 times, appeared for Team America against Italy, Brazil and England in the U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament in 1976. The U.S.A. entry was called Team America because the official U.S.A. national side was not then strong enough to meet top-flight opposition and some of the North American Soccer League (NASL) stars on the tournament team had played for other national sides. The Football Association deemed England's match against Team America unofficial from the beginning, but the Brazilian and Italian associations included their games against this all-star selection in their list of full internationals. Team America matches would not meet the new standard FIFA set down in January, 2001 for official full internationals because they were not played between the selections of two FIFA country members. FIFA has retroactively desanctified matches involving other multinational all-star selections, including England's matches against the Rest of Europe and the Rest of the World, although the F.A. continues to recognise these as official internationals. Moore, then playing for the San Antonio Thunder in the NASL, captained Team America against England. There is a photograph elsewhere on this website of Moore and England captain Gerry Francis leading out the teams for their tournament match, which England won, 3-1. As far as we know, Moore is the only player to appear as captain both for and against England.

 

[WhingForPresident]

Jesus Christ

 

[drew]

Notwithstanding the hoax aspect of this thread, out of interest, why would Spain, reigning world and European champions, need to have Ronaldo playing for them. Would it be a panic purchase following their defeat to the team that are now 5th in the Fifa rankings!!!

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

Massive fail, this was an April fools joke from the red tops earlier in the year.

 

[public school boy]

Spain can't afford £1.60 let alone £160 million

 

[seagullondon]

f*** my life, I didn't know.

 

[OSRGull]

Lighten up f***ing hell

 

[llugaes]

errr what? once you've played for a country thats it! you can represent one country at under 21 level and another at full international level...

you're allowed to switch provided you haven't played a competitive game.

In June 2009, Jones declared to the media that he would be available to play for the United States after it was clear to him that the German national team manager, Joachim Löw, did not have any plans for him in the current German set-up. Jones was eligible based on a new FIFA ruling allowing players to switch their national teams if the player had not yet played in an official FIFA match with the senior team despite having played at the youth level. Jones was eligible for the United States due to his father's nationality, which is American.[11][12] On 20 October 2009, Jones was cleared by FIFA to join the United States national team.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

you're allowed to switch provided you haven't played a competitive game.

Aren't you only allowed to swap like that providing you were eligable to play for both countries at the time of your youth appearances.

Arteta of arsenal can take British citizenship but can't play for anyone other than Spain as he has youth team appearances for them. Had he held a British passport at the time of his appearances for Spain he could have swapped.

Explained better by Wikipedia

In August 2010, several British news organisations erroneously reported that Arteta would be eligible to play for the England national football team due to his eligibility for a British passport. The player is not eligible for England because FIFA Statutes stipulate that the player needs to have held a British passport at the time when he represented Spain at the U16 European Championships and in addition he would have required five years of education in Britain before turning 18.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Jesus Christ

(F)BENTON!!!!!