World Cup winner Ferran Torres speaks out on MAGA controversy sparked by 'Make Spain Great Again' cap
Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, has revealed why he wore a 'Make Spain Great Again' cap during the team's homecoming parade in Madrid.
After Luis de la Fuente's team beat Argentina 1-0 in New Jersey, the squad returned home to celebrate their World Cup crown with the rest of the country.
During an open-top bus parade, Torres wore a hat, which is an obvious reference to Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan.
The White House was quick to respond to Torres' cap of choice, as they penned on X: "Everyone wants in on the movement."
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The Barcelona soccer player has since spoken out and insisted the cap choice was not about politics.
“It was a funny moment,” he told CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. "It was not about politics because honestly, I don’t know about politics."
Torres added: "It was just to be able to see Spain on the top, winning the World Cup. It was just to have fun with my friends, with my family and nothing about politics."
The 29-year-old, who remains on vacation following the World Cup, sat down on NBC's Today programme, where he was asked how many times he's watched back the winning moment from last month's final.
"Honestly? A thousand times," Torres said. "Because when I finished the game, I don't remember the goal. I just have the feeling that I got crazy...I don't remember how I scored.
"I can't describe with words. You just have to live the moment and, yeah, it was unbelievable."
He continued: "I talked with my friends, and for me, it was a more exciting moment when I saw my teammates coming running, for two minutes, than even when I scored a goal."
After Torres posed for photos with the 'Make Spain Great Again' hat, he was met with some criticism, with Spanish outlet El Plural stating his hat was a 'clear ideological message, provoking a multitude of criticism' amongst soccer fans.
However, the football star didn't seem fussed at the time as he posted several photos from the parade on social media, some of which featured the cap.
"Somos los reyessssss! Vaya locura!" Torres captioned the X post, which translates to "We are the kings! It's absolutely crazy!"
Ever since the World Cup concluded just over two weeks ago, it's certainly been a turbulent time for FIFA, the event's organizers and football governing body, which has seen President Gianni Infantino's job dangling by a thread.
Infantino had planned to sell a 20 percent minority stake in a subsidiary linked to FIFA competitions such as the World Cup and Club World Cup to private equity firm Thrive Eternal.
However, after UEFA nations threatened to boycott the next World Cup and many other nations rejecting the idea, the FIFA president ultimately canned his grand plans.
Two nations have since confirmed they will not be supporting Infantino's re-election bid next year, while UEFA released a statement saying they'd 'lost confidence' in the president's leadership.
Callum Jones