Borja Iglesias, the kind-hearted panda

A lot of negative news has been surrounding Spanish football lately: the potential Barça - Negreira scandal, how Valencia is being mismanaged by its owners, the racism towards Vinícius Jr., the Dani Alves trial or even the usual VAR controversy.

Unfortunately, the good things don’t tend to get as much press. So why not try and change that a little by talking about what a wonderful person Borja Iglesias is and his involvement in 'The most inclusive match in the world'.

1,740 disabled Betis fans were invited to the Benito Villamarín last Saturday to watch the match against Real Valladolid, setting a new world record. But what was even more special for some of these supporters was meeting their idols in person, who dropped by to take some photos and sign autographs after the game. Among them was Borja Iglesias.

Dani Martín Anaya is blind, yet very passionate about Betis and particularly ‘El Panda’. Knowing he was going to visit the Benito Villamarín he got in touch with the Spanish striker through Twitter, hoping for a chance to meet him in person.

Not only did Borja answer, but he made sure it happened and here is the result:

Real Betis Balompié 🌴💚 @RealBetis

Coged pañuelos y dadle al play, por favor.

Very emotional scenes and a very sincere hug from both, showing once again that these small gestures make a big difference for a lot of people.

Borja Iglesias, later on that night, went on to express his feelings on Twitter with a very personal message: “When I dreamt of being a footballer as a kid I wasn’t aware of how lucky I'd actually be if I achieved it. Scoring goals, celebrating victories and accomplishments together is something indescribable. But sharing moments and energy, for example with Daniel yesterday, is something for which I can’t express enough gratitude. I feel that I don’t deserve all the affection and respect I receive daily. But thanks for loving me and taking so much care of me. I hope we can keep sharing many moments like these. Goodnight and ‘mucho Betis’”.

Borja Iglesias @BorjaIglesias9

Cuando de niño soñaba con ser futbolista no era consciente de la suerte que tendría si terminaba consiguiéndolo. Marcar goles, celebrar victorias y éxitos juntos es algo indescriptible. Pero compartir momentos y energía, como por ejemplo, ayer con Daniel (+)

Borja Iglesias @BorjaIglesias9

Es algo que no se puede agradecer de ninguna manera. Siento que no es justo todo el cariño y respeto que recibo a diario. Pero gracias por quererme de una forma tsn bonita y cuidarme tanto. Ojalá sigamos compartiendo muchos momentos así. Buenas noches y mucho @RealBetis ✨🫶🏽

Borja is all about these small gestures as we can see weekly on his social media often taking some time to reply his admirers, whether it’s to congratulate them for their birthday, to answer their questions or even to upload photos using his phone because they’ve run out of battery.

Borja Iglesias @BorjaIglesias9

Dejo aquí un par de fotos para que las descarguen estos chicos que estaban sin batería ☺️

There are so many more examples that show he’s an extremely kind-hearted person and that he really means what he said in that personal tweet previously mentioned. Like the day he stopped to greet a young girl after a training session, taking his time to talk to her and sign multiple autographs. Neither can we overlook when he gladly accepted a stuffed panda as a gift from a kid, how he made a player escort’s day by being very friendly and talking to him before the start of a match or when he met an Argentinian fan who told him his story of how he became a Betis fan.

El Chiringuito TV @elchiringuitotv

🎩Nos quitamos el sombrero, @BorjaIglesias9 🐼Precioso gesto del Panda con una aficionada del Betis. 📹⁦@GonzaloTortosa⁩

With Borja you can simply tell it’s genuine affection and interest. He’s grateful for what the’ve given to him and won’t hesitate to give back. If there’s one player that will always be there for the fans, it’s definitely him.