the strange case of footballers with a social conscience

BarcelonaThey are few, but they are there. And they make themselves heard more and more. As the soccer bubble gets inflated and inflated, there is a small group of professional players who are breaking it and breaking out of the mold. In spite of the contradictions posed to them by the profession in which they develop their careers and the luxuries it entails, there is a strange parallel reality. While Cristiano Ronaldo, after parting ways with Manchester United, has decided to end his career bathed in gold in Saudi Arabia, there are other footballers who are interested – and committed – for close causes related to society that surround This Thursday, precisely in this country, two of this rare species will meet. The duel between Barça and Betis in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup – yes, it is the Spanish Super Cup, but it is played in Arabia after the Spanish Football Federation signed a millionaire agreement with the regime in 2019 Saudi – will mean the reunion of two friends: Héctor Bellerín and Borja Iglesias (8 p.m., Movistar Supercopa de España).

In terms of sport, the Galician striker is one of the pillars of Manuel Pelegrini’s attractive project. The Catalan defender, on the other hand, arrived on the last day of the market after Barça failed to bring in Azpilicueta and, so far, he has not played much. Both coincided last season at Betis, where Bellerín played a season on loan. The reasons why the full-back chose the Andalusian team already give some clues about his personality: he substantially reduced the generous fee he received at Arsenal to be able to play for his father’s beloved club. This year he has done the same to wear the colors of where he was trained as a child before leaving for England at 16 years old. As he confirmed in an interview with ARA, he earns less than 500,000 euros gross per year – one of the lowest salaries in the workforce – to be able to return to a Barça demanded by fair play finance.

Bellerín, who was not afraid to define himself as a left-wing footballer, expressed that those of his union are the ones who should “pay more taxes”. “I come from a family where for months we had to make hands and sleeves to be able to eat. I continue to live with people like that, with friends, friends of the family. Everyone wants to earn more money to be more comfortable, but with what I win, I think you have to look not only for your environment, but for society, where there are very precarious situations,” he argued. Iglesias, raised in Santiago de Compostela, where he still maintains friendships from when he was younger, expressed himself along the same lines in an interview that was given to him saved. Asked if there are more right-handed or left-handed footballers, the ram expressed himself as follows: “Usually, the footballer tends more towards a right, not very extreme, but a little more towards the right, because we value the economic issue very much. And then, be clear. If they are telling you that instead of paying 50% [en impostos], you will pay 30% of it, so you think: great, fantastic. But I prefer to pay more and live in a country where I like what is done with that money.”

Statements that contrast with renowned Brazilian footballers or ex-footballers, such as Neymar, Dani Alves, Rivaldo, Romário or Ronaldinho, who, before the Brazilian elections, took a position in favor of far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro. And they did it, in large part, for the economic reasons that Iglesias explained in his interview. On the other hand, less, they also did it in favor of Lula, like Richarlison or Juninho Pernambucano.

Beyond politics or the taxation of footballers, the Galician striker, like Bellerín, with whom he forged a great friendship at Betis, has also used the speaker given to footballers to denounce issues such as racism or homophobia . In June 2020, in the midst of the uproar over the death, the month before, of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, Iglesias showed up to a training session with his nails painted black. It was a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It didn’t take long to insult him on Twitter, with several users calling him a “faggot”. He himself responded by explaining why he had painted his nails: “It’s a way to raise awareness and to fight, from my position, against racism, but I think it’s also good against homophobia. In addition, I to admit that I like them.”

The contradictions of playing in Saudi Arabia

The cases of Bellerín and Iglesias are not unique – there are also curious cases, such as that of Lucas Pérez, a 34-year-old striker who has forgiven a millionaire salary in Cadiz to return to his home and play for Dépor, currently in Primera RFEF -, but they are the ones that attract the most attention because it is not usual to see footballers break out of the clichés and get wet in more earthly matters. In short, have a social conscience, despite the fact that your profession takes you to play in Saudi Arabia. This makes them fall into a complete contradiction, because the host country of the Super Cup is questioned by the UN and by Amnesty International because it does not respect human rights, especially those of women and those of the LGBTI group. “To not do according to what, I should stop being a footballer. And if I stop being a footballer, I give up what has made me fight for so long”, the Catalan explained about these contradictions. On the other hand, when asked about the fact of playing in Arabia, this is how Xavi Hernández expressed himself this Wednesday: “Football is universal. There was also a lot of criticism in Qatar and, then, the people who went to Qatar has seen that there is not much to it. As a country, surely Saudi Arabia has things to improve, like we in Spain have 200 things to improve.”