Overview

• The 30-year-old Real Betis defender received the BBC’s global champion honor on 6 October for leadership on sustainability.
• He promotes greener choices such as cycling or taking public transport to training, veganism, and buying second-hand.
• He emphasizes using his platform to drive climate action and ethical consumption, describing voting as the most effective lever for change.
• His values align with Betis’s Forever Green program, which includes shirts made from algae, wood pulp and recycled plastic and stadium seats built from discarded fishing nets.
• He urges collective player action to address football’s travel-heavy footprint and welfare strains highlighted by FIFPRO data and multi-country tournaments.