Borja Iglesias Met María Valero After Missing 2022 World Cup

Borja Iglesias said missing Spain's 2022 World Cup squad pushed him into a meeting that changed his personal life. He spent a few days in Madrid, met María Valero through a mutual friend, and their first conversation lasted through the night.

Borja Iglesias in Madrid

The timing was direct. Iglesias was playing for Real Betis in Sevilla, while Valero was living in Madrid, and that separation shaped the start of the relationship they built after that first night.

He later described the moment in blunt terms: "No fui al Mundial, pero conocí a María. Fue triste, pero mereció la pena. La conocí por no ir al Mundial. Fue justo en ese momento". The quote ties the disappointment of being left out of Qatar to the beginning of a relationship that followed him through later moves.

Real Betis to Celta de Vigo

That relationship stretched on while his career kept moving. Iglesias later signed for Bayer Leverkusen and moved to Germany before returning to Spain to join Celta de Vigo, while the pair maintained a long-distance relationship for more than four years.

What started in Madrid has now turned into a shared plan there. Iglesias and Valero have bought a property in Madrid, giving that 2022 setback a very different long-term outcome than the one he expected when Luis de la Fuente left him out of the final squad for Qatar.