Borja Iglesias, 'El Panda', Spain's top scorer, is back with a national team he closed the door to after the Rubiales kiss.

"Wearing the Spanish national team jersey is one of the greatest things that has happened to me in my career. I don't know if I'll ever be an option again, but I've made the decision not to return to the national team until things change and these kinds of acts don't go unpunished." Two years have passed since those words, referring to the kiss with Jenni Hermoso , but this Monday Borja Iglesias (Santiago de Compostela, 1993) will once again set foot in the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas. He's doing so on sporting merit—he's the Spanish forward on the hottest form—and because things have changed at the RFEF with Luis Rubiales out of the organization and suspended.

Such statements may seem untimely, but not from Borja Iglesias . The Galician footballer has always championed all kinds of social causes, especially the fight against homophobia and racism, as well as feminism itself. His photos with his nails painted black, in support of Black Lives Matter , or the image with his teammate Aitor Ruibal carrying a handbag at the wedding of a member of the Betis coaching staff have been much discussed. "There are things that truly influence me as a human being, and for me, that's more important than my profession," he noted in an interview.

But Luis De La Fuente hasn't called up Celta's number nine because he's committed to social causes, but because his on-field performance is perhaps the highest of all Spanish forwards. None of the other six players called up by the national team have the same stats as Borja Iglesias . The Galician has scored six goals in his last seven matches; it could have been seven if he had scored the header he had yesterday against Atlético in the third minute of the match. He's also done so with 100 fewer minutes of play than Ferran Torres , the player who comes closest to matching his scoring output.

The Panda is happy, and it shows on the pitch. Footballers, especially forwards, thrive on streaks, and also on athletic and emotional stability. Iglesias has found it in his 'return home.' After struggling in his final season at Betis and his subsequent loan to Bayer Leverkusen, his loan to Celta Vigo, during which he showed up at Balaídos driving a Seat Panda, has finally revealed the forward who promised so much in his third season at Betis, scoring 19 goals. Today, he's already a fixture in the Celta Vigo squad.

But the Panda isn't known for the car, but rather for a song by an American rapper. The enthusiasm for using Desiigner 's Panda in the Celta B locker room and turning the Celeste reserve team into the Panda Team ended up giving him that nickname, which he later fostered by getting a panda tattoo on his ankle and celebrating after scoring a goal in imitation of the animal.

Specifically, he moved from that reserve team to Zaragoza, where he tore through the Second Division with 23 goals in 43 matches, earning him a move to Espanyol and finally taking off in the First Division. At the club, he scored 23 goals in 46 matches and helped them qualify for Europe. From that showcase, he joined Betis, where he was slow to respond, going almost 12 months without scoring, from January 12 to December 6, 2020.

Goals against hate

And again, the hatred. The kind that spilled over into his own family and made him wonder if being a footballer was "worth it." But the athlete reconsidered, also helped by a sports psychology clinic, and he started scoring goals again. "Football is my way of life. There are things that exhaust you, but day to day life as a professional footballer is a dream," he commented in another interview.

Borja Iglesias's smile has returned, like the one he wore yesterday upon leaving Balaídos after being called up to the national team. "I don't think I'll be there, but I'll always support from here. No problem," he had expressed days before this positive surprise. But he is. He's back after a couple of years and just 51 minutes as an international in three matches, the last being the defeat against Scotland in March 2023. "They've been waiting for this shit for a long time, right?" sings Desiigner in the song Iglesias loves so much. Almost two years.