The Atletico Madrid defender, 31, made his senior team debut for Spain in 2020 and was part of the squad that beat Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup in July, although he remained on the bench in the final.

When Luis de la Fuente was appointed Spain's head coach on December 8, 2022, four days after Luis Enrique stepped down following the World Cup round-of-16 penalty shootout defeat to Morocco, the decision puzzled many.