Luis de la Fuente will remain in charge of Spain until 2032, after the Real FederaciĂłn Española de FĂștbol (RFEF) confirmed a four-year extension to the World Cup-winning coach's contract on Wednesday.
RFEF president Rafael LouzĂĄn announced the new deal at the World Football Summit in Madrid, with the 65-year-old's previous contract due to run only until the end of Euro 2028. The extension also brings a significant improvement to De la Fuente's salary, reflecting what LouzĂĄn described as his "extraordinary sporting merits," and will make him one of the best-paid national team coaches in world football.
"His results speak for him, his work speaks for him... and the public loves and admires him," LouzĂĄn said. "I offered to extend his contract because he wasn't among the top 10 in financial terms. He will be.
"We're finalising the agreement so he can stay a few more years. He's been here 14 years and I want him to be able to finish his career here."
The timing means De la Fuente, from Haro in La Rioja, will lead Spain not only through Euro 2028 but also the 2030 World Cup, which Spain will co-host with Portugal and Morocco as reigning world champions. Talks over the extension had been expected to conclude soon after the summer, once Spain's World Cup triumph settled the matter in principle.
De la Fuente himself has been careful not to look too far ahead. Speaking to AS after the tournament, he said: "I hope I can repeat the experience in four years, because this edition has been unique â for the happiness, for the experience, and then for enjoying a success like this that an entire country gets to share too. Thinking about the 2030 World Cup? I'm very short-term in my thinking. What we're looking at is what's happening in September. That's the most important thing for us. We only think about the next competition."
The announcement comes two days before De la Fuente names his first Spain squad since the World Cup, ahead of four Nations League fixtures: England away at Wembley on 26 September, Croatia at home in Seville three days later, the Czech Republic in Oviedo on 3 October, and a return trip to face Croatia in Split on 6 October.
In under four years as head coach, De la Fuente has become the most decorated manager in Spanish football history â a World Cup, matching Vicente del Bosque; a European Championship, matching Luis AragonĂ©s, JosĂ© Villalonga and Del Bosque himself; and the Nations League title that started it all. He joins only Del Bosque and Helmut Schön in having won both a World Cup and a European Championship as a coach.
Before taking the senior job, De la Fuente had already enjoyed a successful career within Spain's youth set-ups, winning the European Under-19 Championship in 2015 and the Under-21 title in 2019, as well as gold at the 2018 Mediterranean Games and silver at the Tokyo Olympics.