Evening Standard

·28 July 2026

Evening Standard

·28 July 2026

Marc Cucurella has stayed true to his promise and had an image of Spain’s World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente tattooed on his body.

Cucurella played a part in Spain’s World Cup success earlier this month and had vowed to pay tribute to De la Fuente in an unusual way.

The former Chelsea left-back, who joined Real Madrid this summer, showed off the tribute to the 65-year-old Spain manager on the underside of his arm.

The design was unveiled on Instagram on Tuesday, with a portrait of De la Fuente placed alongside the World Cup.

“Promise fulfilled,” Cucurella wrote on his social media accounts with a picture of him getting the tattoo done.

Cucurella completed his departure from Stamford Bridge during the tournament, after the Blues agreed a £51.8million deal with Los Blancos.

He is back in his homeland after five years away, having moved to Brighton and Hove Albion from Getafe in 2021 before joining Chelsea in 2023.

The Spanish side won only their second World Cup title in history in East Rutherford, New Jersey, beating Argentina 1-0 at the MetLife Stadium.

Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra time after a scrappy 90 minutes that was repeatedly interrupted by the holders’ constant fouling and gamesmanship.

La Roja, who reached North America as the reigning European champions, conceded only once on their way to the final.

That happened against Belgium in the last eight, when Charles De Ketalaere, the AC Milan striker, scored at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to level the match after Fabian Ruiz had given Spain the lead.