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Spain striker Borja Iglesias has conceded he will reluctantly shake Donald Trump’s hand at the World Cup final because he ‘doesn’t want to go to prison’.
The United States president will be on hand at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to hand the Jules Rimet trophy to the winners on Sunday, with Spain taking on defending champions Argentina.
It’s possible, though, that Trump will meet players from both sides, and that’s put Iglesias on edge.
The 33-year-old has regularly made his political views clear, and spoke out during the controversy surrounding former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation boss Luis Rubiales, who was convicted of sexual assault after forcibly kissing player Jenni Hermoso following the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.
Iglesias, who plays for Celta Vigo in his homeland, has also previously backed pro-Palestine protesters, painted his fingernails black in support of Black Lives Matter and has regularly spoken out against homophobia.
Now, he faces the prospect of meeting Trump – something he doesn’t seem keen to do.
Spain’s Borja Iglesias (pictured) has conceded he will shake hands with Donald Trump at the World Cup final
Trump (pictured) will be present at the final and hand the trophy to the winning side
‘I don’t want to go to prison,’ Iglesias told a local magazine at the prospect. ‘I hope to greet him at a time when we are all very happy, and that it passes very quickly and I can forget about it.
‘I don’t think this is the time to create controversy. People know perfectly well what I think. I would love to do many things, but the reality is that even if people think I am all-powerful, I don’t have that much power to tackle certain things.’
Having scored 18 goals this season for Celta Vigo, Iglesias has made three appearances at the World Cup, totalling 73 minutes as a back-up striker.
It’s likely he will play a similar role on Sunday, with Mikel Oyarzabal set to lead the line again for Luis de la Fuente’s side.
Another striker made headlines earlier in the tournament, meanwhile, when Trump controversially called FIFA president Gianni Infantino as part of an ultimately successful bid to overturn Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension.
US striker Balogun had been sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was due to miss their Round of 16 clash with Belgium until FIFA succumbed to Trump’s pressure and controversially suspended the one-match ban for a year.
The move caused uproar, with UEFA branding the decision ‘unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable’.
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