When Ferran Torres—the 26-year-old soccer star who shot to global fame by scoring Spain’s championship goal at the 2026 World Cup—walks into the Presidential Suite at the 1 Hotel Central Park South, he and his team beeline to the room’s wraparound balcony. There, limelight hydrangeas decorate a peaceful wedge above the hustle of summertime New York City, and Torres is smiling. I can almost see his shoulders relax as the group takes in the sights, tilting their heads upward to view the Steinway Tower, or shielding their eyes while looking over the park’s canopy to find the Dakota.
“I’m tired,” Torres admits. “But this… wow. Really, wow.” For a moment, I think: Even the most famous people in the world aren’t immune to the grand charms of Manhattan—they’re just like the rest of us!
Torres is in New York City as a guest of Under Armour, one of his prime sponsors, and his commitments have been… well, wall-to-wall and back-to-back. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins interviewed him on Monday, as did the crew at the Today show. After our interview, he was to attend a Yankee game, where he’d be throwing the ceremonial first pitch. “I’m nervous,” he says. “A lot of people are going to be watching. But I am doing some practice.”
Photo: Under Armour
This year’s World Cup bristled new household names (new, at least, to many spectators outside of Europe, where most of these men play professionally), from Erling Haaland of Norway and Jude Bellingham of England to Vozinha of Cape Verde. But Torres, a highly respected forward who rose to European prominence first with Manchester City in the Premier League and now with Barcelona in La Liga, flew mostly under the radar until the 106th minute of extra time in the World Cup final. His left-footed goal, with a header assist from Nico Williams, was the deciding factor in Spain’s triumph. With a final score of 1-0, things could have been very different if Torres hadn’t been where he was on the pitch, reacting as he did, at that exact moment.
The euphoria was clear—from his overjoyed celebration at MetLife Stadium to scenes of the Spanish team at their parade in Madrid (where Torres could be seen with a glass of wine in hand) and paparazzi photographs of Torres on vacation in the Balearics—but the acute attention that came with it hasn’t been without its difficulties.
“It’s about trying to just be relaxed, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, and don’t change your mind,” Torres says about navigating his new paradigm. “Yes, I became a world champion. But I have to be the same person as before.”
He continues: “I like to be famous, but I am very discreet. So I try to be natural, to stay with my friends, with my close people. And I have my therapist, which is very important for me. I try to make a therapy call with him once or twice per week.”
Torres was an early advocate for discussing mental health in elite men’s sports; the practice is still not especially common. After he transferred from Manchester City to Barcelona in 2021, Torres found himself in a depressed rut and sought counseling to turn things around.
“It’s been almost four years, with the same person,” he says. “Now he’s part of my family. A few years ago, people were scared to talk about this because I think they didn’t have the confidence to talk about it. And I think it’s important to be open about how you feel. I mean, this in life, not just sports.”
He adds: “If you are not good in your mind, it doesn’t matter how hard you train in the gym. You have to be as strong in your head as you are with your body.”
