Ferran Torres has explained why he chose to wear a ‘Make Spain Great Again’ cap during Spain’s World Cup victory parade in Madrid after scoring the decisive goal in the final.
Spain returned home in celebratory mood after Luis de la Fuente’s side edged Argentina 1-0 in extra time to lift the World Cup. The match took place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Torres scored the winning goal in the 106th minute.
As supporters lined the streets for the open-top bus parade, Torres drew attention by wearing a hat that echoed Donald Trump’s well-known ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.
The cap quickly sparked a reaction online, with the White House commenting on X.
“Everyone wants in on the movement.”
Torres has since made clear that the choice of headwear was meant as a joke rather than any kind of political statement.
“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 26-year-old is still enjoying time off after the tournament and recently appeared on NBC’s Today programme, where he was asked how often he has revisited the winning goal from the 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.”
Reaction to the hat was mixed. Spanish outlet El Plural described it as a ‘clear ideological message, provoking a multitude of criticism’ among football fans. Some observers noted that the phrase “Make Spain great again” has previously been used by the right-wing party Vox in Spain, which fuelled political interpretations of the episode.
Even so, Torres did not appear too concerned and later shared several parade photos on social media, including images in which he was wearing the cap.
President Donald Trump, who attended the World Cup final and presented the trophy to the Spanish team, also weighed in on the gesture. Speaking to the press, Trump praised Torres, saying: “He is a great player. He was wearing essentially a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, so it was a nice tribute.”
“Somos los reyessssss! Vaya locura!” Torres captioned the X post, which translates to “We are the kings! It’s absolutely crazy!”
Since the World Cup ended, Spain has become the first country to simultaneously hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles, having won the women’s tournament in 2023. This marked Spain’s second men’s World Cup title and their first since 2010.
In the meantime, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino have faced mounting pressure on multiple fronts. Infantino had been working on a plan to sell a 20 percent minority stake in a subsidiary tied to FIFA competitions, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, to private equity firm Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The proposal would have valued the subsidiary at $20 billion, with plans to raise up to $4.2 billion from investors.
Those plans were dropped in early August after UEFA and other regional confederations threatened to boycott upcoming FIFA competitions. UEFA issued a scathing statement, saying it could not accept “secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals” and declared it has lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
The fallout from the failed private equity deal has significantly weakened Infantino’s position ahead of his re-election scheduled for March 2027. In addition to UEFA’s loss of confidence statement, other European football associations have also voiced opposition to his continued leadership, raising questions about whether he will face a serious challenge to his position for the first time in his presidency.