Jenni Hermoso has opened up on the Luis Rubiales scandal as she prepares to make her Spain return following a one-year absence.
The 35-year-old is one of Spain’s greatest ever players and their all-time leading goalscorer with 57 goals in 123 caps.
Hermoso has been called up the Spain squad for the first time in one year after she was frequently left out by former head coach Montse Tome. Spain are set to face Sweden in a two-legged Nations League semi-final, with the World Cup holders hosting the first leg on Friday night.
She was also involved in a moment of controversy after Spain’s 2023 World Cup final victory over England.
Former Spanish Football Federation president (RFEF) Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips without her consent as she went to collect her winner’s medal.
Rubiales pledged his innocence, but was forced to step down from the role and fined 10,000 euros (£8,718) as Spain’s High Court found him guilty of sexual assault. He was acquitted of coercion, for allegedly trying to pressure Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual in public.
What has Jenni Hermoso said about Luis Rubiales’ kiss?
Spain star Jenni Hermoso, as per Catalunya Diari, opened up on her hard couple of years with Spain since the 2023 World Cup.
She said: “So much damage has been caused to me. I have had to assume the consequences of an act that I did not provoke, that I had not chosen or premeditated.”
The forward, who now plays her club football for Tigres in Mexico, said the support she has received has helped her get through the difficult times.
“That’s what gave me the strength to continue. I mean that so many people were with me,” she said.
“Actresses, singers, soccer players, some of them rivals we had faced in the World Cup, including the English national team, whom we beat in the final. All of that gave me the strength to keep going and to think that I had to go through this for everyone. There are many colleagues who needed someone to speak up.”
Jenni Hermoso’s fallout with Montse Tome
Jenni Hermoso returns to the Spain squad after the appointment of Sonia Bermudez, who replaced Montse Tome after their Euro 2025 final defeat to England.
The Tigres striker had fallen out-of-favour with Tome, which led to her omission from the Euro 2025 squad.
Hermoso hit out at Tome after the former head coach said she had a ‘clear conscience’ regards to her selection for the Euro 2025 squad.
In response to Tome, Hermoso tweeted: “I really also have a very clear conscience and even more so when I remove environments with such bad energy from my life.
“Manage? That’s what others should learn to do, that part is too big for them.”
Hermoso added that she wrote the tweet as it was the “only way left to have a conversation”.
Hermoso’s history with the Spanish national team
Hermoso is one of Spain’s greatest ever players and made her debut for the senior squad in June 2012 against Turkey.
The former Barcelona star was a regular for her country for the next 11 years.
Hermoso played the majority of the 2023 World Cup, scoring three goals as Spain went on to beat England in the final.
She was left out of the Spain squad after the incident but returned in a 1-0 Nations League win over Italy in October 2023.
Hermoso played all six of Spain’s Euro 2025 qualifiers, but has not featured for her country since October 2024.
