Leire Martínez has shared a reflection on free love in men’s football during her performance at Barcelona Pride, coming on the eve of the World Cup final. The author of Stories of That Girl has been clear about her request: to normalize homosexuality in football.
The singer began by saying she had been thinking after hearing “how proud we are”: “It’s true that it’s Pride Month and that we’re celebrating it here in Barcelona, but I’m also hearing this a lot when it comes to sports,” she explained.
She went on to say she was proud of how the Spanish national team had performed at the World Cup, but added: “I wish, as a country and as a society, we moved as much for other causes as we do for football, and that issues like freedom, equality, education, and healthcare were the topics that unite us and push us to take to the streets.”
To close, Leire recalled the stigma still present in the male world of football regarding homosexuality, beginning by noting that “women in this regard have been much braver.” Her final words earned a round of applause from everyone present, as she aimed to bridge gaps: “Let’s hope that the male sports world finally starts to normalize and make visible homosexuality,” she concluded.
Leire Martínez on the Spanish team:
“I hope that as a society we move as much for freedom, equality, education, or healthcare as we do for football”
“And let’s see if finally in men’s football we begin to normalize and make visible homosexuality”
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— televisivok (@televisivok) July 19, 2026
