Donald Trump has called Ferran Torres a 'great player' and thanked the forward for his 'nice tribute' after the Barcelona star was pictured wearing a 'Make Spain Great Again' cap during Spain's World Cup celebrations in Madrid.
Torres became a national hero by scoring the dramatic extra-time winner in the World Cup final against Argentina. The 26-year-old, who previously played for Manchester City, had faced heavy criticism during the tournament but silenced his doubters with the historic goal that secured Spain's second World Cup title, 16 years after their 2010 triumph.
Trump's reaction
Speaking to reporters, Trump said: 'He is a great player. He was wearing essentially a "Make America Great Again" cap and I think he meant that very nicely and we appreciate it. He made America great. I know that he meant it as a very great compliment so it was a nice tribute.'
The White House had earlier shared a video of Torres wearing the hat on the open-top bus in Madrid, tweeting: 'Everyone wants in on the movement.'
World Cup final controversy
Trump attended the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and tried to gatecrash the trophy lift. Earlier, Spain's Mikel Merino appeared to mock Trump on stage, while Argentina defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez declined to shake hands with the US president when receiving their runners-up medals.
Trump's intervention in Balogun red card
Trump also caused controversy during the tournament by reportedly speaking privately with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino about US striker Folarin Balogun's red card. Balogun's one-match ban was subsequently suspended for a year, a decision that left the Belgian Football Association 'astonished'.
Women's football legend Megan Rapinoe accused Trump of throwing the US team 'off their game' with his involvement. Appearing on The Daily Show, she said: 'It didn't give them the boost, maybe, that they were thinking it would or that Trump was hoping that it would. I don't know, it seemed like it kind of threw them off their game.'
