Marcos Llorente has issued a statement after pictures of him with Ferran Torres following the World Cup final went viral on social media.

Llorente and Torres were both part of the Spain side that were crowned World Cup champions for a second time this summer.

Llorente started and played the full match in two of Spain’s group stage matches, but played just six minutes in the knockout rounds. He was an unused substitute in the final.

Torres, meanwhile, starred in all eight of Spain’s matches. He emerged from the bench to score the winner in their 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final.

Llorente Addresses Holiday Images

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Llorente and Torres have formed a close bond over the years. The duo both made their debuts for Spain in 2020 and have been regulars for their national side ever since.

Following the World Cup, they decided to holiday together in Ibiza. During their holiday, pictures emerged of the two players hugging and exchanging kisses in friendly fashion. The images went viral, with some speculating that they were in a relationship.

Llorente has now addressed those images on Instagram. The Atletico Madrid star was asked by a fan: ‘Why do you think people made such a fuss because Ferran hugged you?’

The 31-year-old responded: “It puzzles me that in 2026, two men showing affection towards each other is still a topic for discussion, but when I see the prevailing mentality, I understand it.

Ferran Torres’ Barcelona Future in Question

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Torres may not be a Barcelona player much longer. The 26-year-old joined the Catalan giants in 2022 and has enjoyed great success with the club, scoring 65 times in 207 games.

He enjoyed his best season of his career in front of goal in 2025/26, scoring 21 times as Barca retained their La Liga crown and won the Supercopa de Espana.

However, there has been speculation that Barca may be looking to cash in on Torres this summer. Tottenham are one of the clubs interested in signing the World Cup star and have reportedly held talks over a transfer.

Hansi Flick doesn’t want the forward to leave this summer, though. Addressing his future on Friday, the German said, per Forbes: “I spoke with him during the World Cup, but now he is on holiday, he is important for us.”

In 2009, Arnold Schwarzenegger was invited to deliver the commencement speech for the graduating students at the University of Southern California (USC).

His recruitment for the ceremony made total sense. Arriving in California in 1968, the Austrian continued to sculpt his Mr Universe-winning bodybuilder’s physique on the sands of Muscle Beach. From here he would break into Hollywood, becoming one of cinema’s greatest action stars, before moving into politics and being sworn in as the Governor of California in 2003.

But rather than retrace the well-known chapters of his incredible story, Arnie offered the Class of 2009 some useful advice as they transitioned from students to career-minded professionals. GIVEMESPORT explores the six rules of success that Schwarzenegger shared during his address.

1. Trust Yourself

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Schwarzenegger began from within. He emphasised the importance of searching internally to answer the questions about who we want to be. He added that this answer cannot come from our parents or teachers, nor should it match societal expectations. True happiness is often found in the unconventional, and that comes from trusting your judgement.

2. Break the Rules

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“We have so many rules for everything in life. I say break the rules,” declared Arnold. According to the muscle-bound Austrian, progress is found in the destruction of boundaries. Tradition should be challenged, as should conventional ways of thinking. Guidelines are the death of originality.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

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Fearlessness remains at the forefront of Schwarzenegger’s approach to life. Fear of failure, he says, is the greatest threat to accomplishment. It is almost paralysing in its protectiveness, this aspect of human nature that prevents us from making mistakes or learning from our failings.

4. Don’t Listen to the Naysayers

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The Terminator’s rendition of ‘Don’t listen to the haters’. Arnold sees impossibility as the food of the unimaginative. They simply cannot fathom the image of overcoming something extremely difficult or unlikely. Arnie says turn that negativity into motivation. “I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before,” said Schwarzenegger brightly. “Because then, when I do it, that means that I’m the first one that has done it.”

In relation to ignoring the haters, Arnie posed this question to the graduating students:

5. Work Your Butt Off

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Be it talent, luck, rule-breaking, or nepotism, the Austrian believes that nothing can top good old-fashioned hard work.

Arnold believes that success comes with sacrifice. Greatness doesn’t happen during your 9-5; it is achieved in the long hours and by cutting into leisure time. Whilst everyone else is resting and partying, there’s someone else out there pushing themselves towards success.

6. Give Something Back

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Whether that success comes or not, Arnold concluded his commencement speech by highlighting the importance of altruism in all forms. He challenged the students to give something back, whether that’s to their community, state, or country. “Whatever path that you take in your life, you must always find time to give something back.”

In a moment of circularity, Schwarzenegger cycled back to the first rule, which focused heavily on self and searching internally.

Throughout the speech, Arnie championed self-worth and conviction, but he finished by noting the important role we can play in the progress of the world around us by looking beyond our self interests.

South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has sparked anger on social media with its statement reacting to Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

FIFA revealed earlier this week that they intended to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by selling a significant stake in the commercial rights of the men’s and women’s World Cups, and the Club World Cup, to investors.

They said that if the deal went through, they would distribute ‘over $10bn’ (£7.5bn) to FIFA’s 211 member associations.

The proposal did not go down well at all. UEFA released a strong statement on behalf of all 55 of its members saying that it would boycott the World Cup should the deal materialise.

CONCACAF [The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football] also expressed their opposition to the proposal, as did the AFC [Asian Football Confederation].

With great opposition and a lack of support, FIFA have now made a U-turn and scrapped their plans.

CONMEBOL’s Statement Causes a Stir

REUTERS/Henry Romero

Just hours before FIFA officially scrapped the deal, CONMEBOL made their stance regarding the proposal clear. They didn’t express their opposition like UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC have done, and instead decided to sit on the fence. Their statement read:

“Conmebol reaffirms that its priority will always be football: its values, its people and the passion that makes it the most popular sport in the world. We understand that the development of football requires commercial and financial decisions.

“However, these decisions must always be at the service of football and never above its essence. Football always comes first.

“Since Conmebol became aware of the proposal presented by Fifa in relation to the FFE project, and in compliance with its institutional procedures, it began a process of consultations with its Member Associations and convened a meeting of its Council with the sole purpose of analysing and evaluating said proposal with the responsibility and rigour that the issue requires.

“Conmebol will continue to act with prudence, responsibility and a spirit of collaboration, contributing to the strengthening of world football exclusively through institutional channels and the principles of good governance.

“Conmebol calls for the unity of the entire football family and to always put football before any other interest.”

Their failiure to condemn the proposal hasn’t gone down well on Reddit. One fan said: “Weak statement, they clearly want to find a middle ground and may have gone along with it without the strength of UEFA’s statement,” while another commented: “Utterly disappointing….but I’m not surprised.”

Fans on X also reacted badly. One said: “Shame on you CONMEBOL,” while a second stated: “Extremely disappointed in them.” A third wrote: “What a weak FA.”

Gianni Infantino Scraps World Cup Proposal

REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

In a statement, FIFA president Infantino said the deal was designed to ‘strengthen our sport worldwide’, but the proposal has now been scrapped due to it ‘creating divisions that are no longer in the interest of our objective.

Their statement read: “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed. And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.

“Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.

“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”