.jpg) Iglesias withBetis in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Borja Iglesias Quintas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-01-17)17 January 1993 (age 33)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago de Compostela, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Celta | ||
| 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) |
| 2019–2025 | Betis | 142 | (39) |
| 2024 | →Bayer Leverkusen (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | →Celta (loan) | 37 | (11) |
| 2025– | Celta | 22 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Spain | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:29, 14 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:56, 15 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Borja Iglesias Quintas (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈboɾxajˈɣlesjas]; born 17 January 1993) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forLa Liga clubCelta de Vigo and theSpain national team.
Developed atCelta, where he played mainly inthe reserves initially, he achieved totals of over 200La Liga appearances and 60 goals for that club,Espanyol andBetis. He won the2021–22 Copa del Rey with the latter.
Iglesias made his full debut forSpain in 2022.
Born inSantiago de Compostela,Province of A Coruña,Galicia, Iglesias began playing football as a toddler in his local primary school, until he was recruited bySD Compostela at age 10.[2] He eventually graduated fromVillarreal CF's youth setup after stints atCD Roda andValencia CF, starting his senior career in 2012 with the former'sC team in theTercera División.[3]
Iglesias joinedRC Celta de Vigo on 9 July 2013, signing a two-year deal with an option for a further three and being assigned tothe reserves in theSegunda División B.[4] On 3 January 2015 he made his first-team – andLa Liga – debut, coming on as a 78th-minutesubstitute forSanti Mina in a 1–0 away loss againstSevilla FC.[5]
On 11 December 2016, after scoring a brace in a 3–2 away defeat toCaudal Deportivo, Iglesias became Celta B's all-time top scorer with 53 goals, surpassingGoran Marić.[6] He topped thethird-tier charts at 32, being essential as his team sealed aplay-off berth.[7]
On 6 July 2017, Iglesias was loaned toSegunda División clubReal Zaragoza for one year.[8] He scored his first goal for his new team on 27 August, the equaliser through apenalty kick in a 1–1 home draw withGranada CF.[9] Additionally, he netted braces againstCórdoba CF,Sevilla Atlético,Real Valladolid andCA Osasuna, to reach 15 goals by March[10] and finishthe season as the division's joint-third highest scorer on 22.[11] Earlier on 24 September, he wassent off just before half time in a 1–1 draw withGimnàstic de Tarragona atLa Romareda for what thereferee considered an aggression towardsgoalkeeperStole Dimitrievski.[12]
On 9 July 2018, Iglesias signed a four-year contract withRCD Espanyol with abuyout clause of€28 million.[13] He made his official debut for the club on 18 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against former club Celta.[14] In his next appearance, he helped the hosts defeatValencia CF 2–0 after profiting from aCristiano Piccini mistake midway through the second half.[15]
Iglesias scored three goals over two legs in an aggregate 7–1 win overUngmennafélagið Stjarnan in thesecond qualifying round of theUEFA Europa League in late July and early August 2019.[16]
On 14 August 2019, Iglesias moved toReal Betis after agreeing to a five-year deal for a fee of €28 million, reuniting with his former Espanyol managerRubi.[17] He struggled with just three goals as the teamfinished 15th in his debut campaign,[18] and received a red card on 20 February at the end of a goalless draw atCD Leganés for pushing an opposition coach.[19] In 2020–21, he contributed 13 goals – 11 inthe league – to clinch aEuropa League place.[18]
On 3 March 2022, in the second leg of thesemi-finals of theCopa del Rey againstRayo Vallecano, Iglesias scored in stoppage time to ensure his team a 1–1 draw and a spot inthe final.[20] In thedecisive match on 23 April, he opened a 1–1 draw with Valencia as his team won onpenalties;[21] he also topped the tournament's individual charts at five,[22] and was the final's most valuable player.[23]
Iglesias opened the2022–23 season with six goals in six games,[24] earning himself the accolade ofLa Liga Player of the Month for August.[25] On 6 November, both he and teammateNabil Fekir (as well asGonzalo Montiel for the opposition) received straight red cards in an eventual 1–1 home draw with Sevilla in theSeville derby.[26]
Iglesias scored only twice from 18 appearances in the first part of2023–24, failing to find the net in the domestic league.[27][28] On 27 January 2024, he was sent on loan toBundesliga clubBayer 04 Leverkusen until the end ofthe campaign, with a reported option to buy for €8 million;[29] he arrived to cover for the injuredVictor Boniface.[30] He totalled ten games during his spell, winning a domesticdouble but failing to score in the process.[31][32]
On 19 July 2024, Iglesias returned to Celta on aseason-long loan.[33] He scored a squad-best 11 goals while veteranIago Aspas added ten, and theyqualified for the Europa League after finishing seventh;[34][35] this included his firsthat-trick in the top division on 19 April 2025, a fruitless one as it was in a 4–3 away loss against eventual championsFC Barcelona.[36]
Iglesias signed a permanent two-year contract with the club on 12 August 2025, with an option for an additional year.[37]
In September 2022, Iglesias andNico Williams were called up for the first time to theSpain national team, ahead ofUEFA Nations League games withSwitzerland andPortugal.[38] He made his debut against the former, in a 2–1 loss inZaragoza.[39] Despite his 20 goals making him the top scoring national player of the calendar year, he was overlooked for the2022 FIFA World Cup – the first Spaniard since1994 to be in this position.[40]
In August 2023, in response to theRoyal Spanish Football Federation presidentLuis Rubiales non-consensually kissing Spanish midfielderJennifer Hermoso during theWomen's World Cup medal ceremony, Iglesias announced he would boycott playing for Spain until Rubiales resigned.[41]
Iglesias was nicknamedPanda, after thesong of the same name by rapperDesiigner.[42] He received attention for painting his fingernails black in support ofBlack Lives Matter in 2020; his gesture was also a statement againsthomophobia, for which he was praised by the actorBrays Efe.[43]
In January 2026, after a match against Sevilla, Iglesias was subjected to homophobic slurs and hateful chanting in a car park while giving his shirt to a fan. In response, Celta launched a campaign titled "Against Hate, Together." During the subsequent home match againstRayo Vallecano, over 5,000 supporters, the club's coaching staff and presidentMarián Mouriño all painted their nails in solidarity with the player, who clarified that he is heterosexual, stating his goal is to help "create a safe space" in men's football.[44][45]
When asked about his political opinions, Iglesias said "Footballers tend to lean a little bit tothe right because sometimes we value that economic policy. For me, for example, that's not the only thing worth anything. What I'm trying to say is, I prefer to pay more to live in a country where I like what they do with that money".[46] In September 2025, he denouncedGaza genocide. He expressed surprise that "more importance is accorded to the cancellation of a sporting event than to a genocide," specifically addressing complaints regarding pro-Palestine protests that had impacted stages of theVuelta a España cycling race; he defended his stance by stating that "sometimes, it is necessary to stop and claim what is mandatory, namelyhuman rights and respect, which are often lacking," and emphasized the need to "take conscience of the injustices that exist in the world.".[47]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | 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[b] | 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[c] | 0 | 43 | 23 | |
| Espanyol | 2018–19 | La Liga | 37 | 17 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 20 | ||
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 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[d] | 4 | — | 51 | 19 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 35 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 43 | 15 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6[d] | 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[d] | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Celta (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 37 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 11 | ||
| Celta | 2025–26 | La Liga | 22 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 8[d] | 2 | — | 32 | 14 | |
| Total | 59 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2 | — | 71 | 25 | |||
| Career total | 458 | 183 | 30 | 14 | 35 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 528 | 209 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Betis
Bayer Leverkusen
Individual
