Borja Iglesias on former PM Rajoy's comments about France: "Such things surprise and sadden me"

Celta Vigo and Spain striker Borja Iglesias was asked by DAZN about the controversial remarks made by former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy concerning the players of the French national team.

"France boasts an incredibly high-level squad. But, of course, without any Frenchmen," the politician wrote in his column for "El Debate."

In response, Borja Iglesias stated: "The truth is, I was surprised. Yesterday, while traveling by plane, I received the news immediately after landing. It surprises me that in this day and age, we are still dealing with such matters... because I perceive life and society as multicultural.

Each of us comes from somewhere, everyone is different, and I believe that this is precisely where our richness lies. I understand that France is so rich in many aspects precisely because of the multitude of people from different backgrounds it has," he explained.

The striker admitted, "Such things sadden me, but I can concede that he might not have said it with malicious intent. Nevertheless, I believe we need to be a bit more careful with these topics.

The richness of our country, frankly, lies precisely in this diversity," Iglesias emphasized.

Rajoy's comments were immediately condemned by the French government and the French Football Federation, as well as by Spain's current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Transport, along with other politicians from the Iberian nation, also reacted strongly.