Borja Iglesias facts for kids
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Iglesias with Betis in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Borja Iglesias Quintas | ||
| Date of birth | 17 January 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago de Compostela, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Celta (on loan from Betis) |
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| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2007 | Compostela | ||
| 2007–2010 | Valencia | ||
| 2010–2011 | Roda | ||
| 2011–2012 | Villarreal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Villarreal C | 29 | (11) |
| 2013–2017 | Celta B | 144 | (73) |
| 2014–2018 | Celta | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Zaragoza (loan) | 39 | (22) |
| 2018–2019 | Espanyol | 37 | (17) |
| 2019– | Betis | 142 | (39) |
| 2024 | → Bayer Leverkusen (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2024– | → Celta (loan) | 20 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Spain | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:05, 19 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:48, 28 March 2023 (UTC) |
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Borja Iglesias Quintas (born 17 January 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer. He plays as a striker for La Liga club Celta. He is currently on loan from Betis. Borja also plays for the Spain national team.
He started his career at Celta, mostly playing for their reserve team. He has played over 175 games in La Liga and scored more than 50 goals. He played for Espanyol and Betis. With Betis, he won the 2021–22 Copa del Rey, a major Spanish cup competition.
Iglesias played his first game for the Spanish national team in 2022.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out: Villarreal
Borja Iglesias was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He started playing football when he was very young. At age 10, he joined SD Compostela. Later, he played for youth teams at CD Roda and Valencia CF. He finished his youth training at Villarreal CF. In 2012, he began his senior career with Villarreal's C team.
Playing for Celta
On 9 July 2013, Iglesias joined RC Celta de Vigo. He signed a two-year contract and played for their reserve team, Celta B. On 3 January 2015, he played his first game for Celta's main team in La Liga. He came on as a substitute in a match against Sevilla FC.
On 11 December 2016, Borja scored two goals against Caudal Deportivo. This made him Celta B's all-time top scorer with 53 goals. He scored 32 goals in the third-tier league that season. This helped his team reach the play-offs.
On 6 July 2017, Iglesias went on loan to Segunda División club Real Zaragoza for one year. He scored his first goal for Zaragoza on 27 August, from a penalty kick. He scored two goals in several games, reaching 15 goals by March. He finished the season with 22 goals, making him one of the top scorers in the division. In one game, he was sent off (given a red card) just before half time.
Time at Espanyol
On 9 July 2018, Iglesias signed a four-year contract with RCD Espanyol. His contract included a buyout clause of €28 million. This means another club would have to pay €28 million to buy him. He played his first game for Espanyol on 18 August. In his next game, he scored a goal to help his team win against Valencia CF.
In July and August 2019, Iglesias scored three goals in two games against Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan. These goals helped Espanyol win in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League.
Moving to Betis
On 14 August 2019, Iglesias moved to Real Betis for €28 million. He signed a five-year deal. At Betis, he joined his former Espanyol manager, Rubi. In his first season, he scored three goals. He also received a red card at the end of a goalless draw against CD Leganés. In the 2020–21 season, he scored 13 goals, helping Betis qualify for the Europa League.
On 3 March 2022, in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, Iglesias scored a goal in stoppage time. This goal helped his team draw 1–1 with Rayo Vallecano and reach the final. In the final match on 23 April, he scored the first goal against Valencia. The game ended in a 1–1 draw, and Betis won on penalties. He was the top scorer in the tournament with five goals and was named the most valuable player in the final.
Iglesias started the 2022–23 season strongly, scoring six goals in his first six games. This earned him the award for La Liga Player of the Month for August. On 6 November, he received a straight red card in a game against Sevilla.
In the first part of the 2023–24 season, Iglesias scored only two goals in 18 games. On 27 January 2024, he went on loan to German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen until the end of the season. He played ten games for them and helped them win two domestic trophies. However, he did not score any goals during his loan spell.
On 19 July 2024, Iglesias returned to Celta on a loan deal for the season.
International Career
In September 2022, Borja Iglesias was called up to the Spanish national team for the first time. This was for UEFA Nations League games. He made his debut against Switzerland in a 2–1 loss. Even though he was the top Spanish goal scorer in 2022, he was not chosen for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In August 2023, Borja Iglesias announced he would not play for Spain. This was because he disagreed with the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation and wanted the president to resign.
Personal Life
Iglesias is known by the nickname Panda. This nickname comes from a song by the rapper Desiigner. In 2020, he gained attention for painting his fingernails black. He did this to show his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Villarreal C | 2012–13 | Tercera División | 29 | 11 | — | — | — | 29 | 11 | |||
| Celta B | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 35 | 12 | — | — | — | 35 | 12 | |||
| 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 36 | 17 | — | — | — | 36 | 17 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Segunda División B | 36 | 12 | — | — | — | 36 | 12 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 37 | 32 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 39 | 34 | |||
| Total | 144 | 73 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 146 | 75 | ||||
| Celta | 2014–15 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Zaragoza (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 39 | 22 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 43 | 23 | |
| Espanyol | 2018–19 | La Liga | 37 | 17 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 20 | ||
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | ||
| Total | 37 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | 46 | 23 | |||
| Betis | 2019–20 | La Liga | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 28 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 13 | |||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 33 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 4 | — | 51 | 19 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 35 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 15 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 142 | 39 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 181 | 52 | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen (loan) | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Celta (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 419 | 167 | 28 | 12 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 479 | 189 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Honours
Betis
- Copa del Rey: 2021–22
Bayer Leverkusen
- Bundesliga: 2023–24
- DFB-Pokal: 2023–24
Individual
- La Liga Player of the Month: August 2022
See also
In Spanish: Borja Iglesias para niños
