The winning man of the Spanish national team, Ferran Torres, was caught wearing a "Make Spain Great Again" hat during Monday’s victory parade in Madrid, sparking debate over whether the scorer of the only goal in Sunday’s World Cup final wanted to deliver a political message supporting US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Images and video footage of the Barcelona forward in the iconic red hat are spreading like wildfire on social media at the time of writing, with several different interpretations emerging simultaneously.
British tabloid The Sun immediately declared that Torres was trolling Donald Trump even if there was reason behind that, while Spanish coverage was, surprisingly, more cautious, describing the gesture as a reference or parody and leaving its meaning unresolved.
The uncertainty indeed allowed commentators to see what they wanted. To Trump’s critics, it was a joke at the US president’s expense after he lingered conspicuously during Spain’s trophy ceremony. To some on the Spanish right, it looked more like an unapologetic burst of national pride—and perhaps a barb aimed not at Trump but at Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
While none of this can be proved, the latter interpretation fits Torres's public political record better than the idea that he was mocking Trump. After the catastrophic Valencia floods in 2024, the Valencia-born player demanded 'a change in this country', declared that 'the state has failed', and wrote that 'the people save the people', before signing off: 'Visca Valencia y Viva España.' His anger targeted political leaders broadly, but the language was unmistakably patriotic and anti-establishment.
At the time, Pedro Sánchez was already prime minister. Currently, however, the Socialist leader is probably more politically vulnerable than ever. Despite La Roja winning the country’s second World Cup title, Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, is set to face a jury trial on influence-peddling and embezzlement charges; his brother has been convicted of administrative misconduct; and former transport minister José Luis Ábalos received a 24-year sentence for corruption.
Sánchez describes the cases involving his family as politically motivated, while public dissatisfaction is nevertheless rising, with recent anti-corruption and anti-establishment protests attracting more and more people.
The likeliest reading is probably less ideological but hardly apolitical: a genuinely patriotic footballer celebrating the belief that, for one triumphant night, he really had made Spain great again.
🇪🇸 Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, wore a "Make Spain Great Again" cap at Spain's victory parade.
— Europa.com (@europa) July 20, 2026
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