One million euros! World Cup hero apparently donated bonus to Spain staff | Goal.com

Published on 24 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 1 minute

Spanish newspaper AS reports that the unnamed player donated his earnings to the many people working behind the scenes. The payment was a thank you to staff for their efforts across almost two months of training camp and tournament, which played a big part in the triumph in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The report says the amount for the players and coaching staff came to around one million euros each. In total, record bonuses worth 44 million euros were paid out to Spain, which the federation received for progressing through the individual rounds and for winning matches.

Underlining that point, AS says the player wanted to remain anonymous and still does, so that the gesture stands simply as a sign of gratitude towards the staff.

There could now be a reunion, provided the generous donor has once again been named in Luis de la Fuente's squad. Spain's coach made four changes in total: Josep Martinez (goalkeeper, Inter Milan), Dean Huijsen (defence, Real Madrid), Fermin Lopez (midfield, Barcelona) and Roberto Fernandez (attack, Espanyol) came into the squad for Marcos Llorente (retirement), Gavi (not considered, one-match suspension), Joan Garcia (knee injury) and Borja Iglesias (not considered).

To start the extended international break, Spain face England in the Nations League on Saturday, with the return leg at the end on 6 October. In between, they play Croatia (29 September) and the Czech Republic (3 October).

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