Spain’s tastiest trophy: World Cup heroes rewarded with their bodyweight in tomatoes

Most footballers dream of lifting the World Cup, celebrating with millions of adoring fans and adding another glittering medal to the trophy cabinet. Few, however, probably imagine the next stop on their victory tour involves receiving their own bodyweight in tomatoes.

But in southern Spain, that’s exactly what happened.

Fresh from helping Spain become world champions for the second time, midfield stars Fabián Ruiz and Gavi returned to their hometown of Los Palacios y Villafranca, in Seville province, where they were greeted not with champagne, luxury watches or the keys to the city, but with mountains of freshly harvested tomatoes.

Thankfully, they were for taking home rather than throwing.

The unusual welcome left fans smiling and proved that, in Spain at least, some of the most treasured traditions have nothing to do with glitz or glamour and everything to do with local pride.

A tradition rooted in local pride

Los Palacios y Villafranca is renowned across Spain for producing some of the country’s finest tomatoes, with its fertile farmland supplying markets and restaurants nationwide. So when one of the town’s own achieves sporting greatness, there’s only one fitting reward.

Every player who returns home as a major international champion receives tomatoes equal to their bodyweight.

The tradition has become one of Spain’s most charming and distinctive sporting celebrations, blending football fever with the agricultural heritage that has shaped the town for generations.

Following Spain’s World Cup triumph, Fabián Ruiz stepped onto the scales before delighted locals and was presented with around 84 kilograms of tomatoes. Fellow midfielder Gavi followed, collecting approximately 68 kilograms after receiving the same warm hometown welcome.

The ceremony drew applause, laughter and plenty of photographs as residents celebrated not only the players’ achievements but also a tradition that has become a source of enormous civic pride.

Honouring local heroes

The tomato ceremony dates back to Spain’s first men’s World Cup victory in 2010, when local favourite Jesús Navas returned home after helping La Roja conquer the world in South Africa.

Since then, every major international success involving one of the town’s footballers has been marked in the same unmistakable way.

This year, the celebrations extended well beyond the produce.

Local authorities announced plans for a monument honouring Ruiz, Gavi and Navas, recognising the extraordinary contribution all three have made to Spanish football while inspiring young people growing up in the town.

Two local football grounds where Ruiz and Gavi first developed their talent have also been renamed in their honour, ensuring future generations will train on pitches bearing the names of players who once dreamed exactly where they now stand.

It’s a powerful reminder that even global sporting superstars all started somewhere, and that hometowns never forget their own.

Spain celebrates another historic triumph

Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final secured the country’s second men’s world title, 16 years after Andrés Iniesta’s famous winning goal against the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

The victory sparked huge celebrations across Spain, with an estimated 1.8 million supporters lining the streets of Madrid to welcome the champions home during an open-top bus parade through the capital.

But while the national celebrations showcased Spain’s footballing success on a grand scale, it was the quieter homecoming in Los Palacios y Villafranca that captured hearts for a very different reason.

There were no extravagant gifts or lavish ceremonies. Instead, neighbours, friends and families came together to celebrate two local boys who had reached the pinnacle of world football without forgetting their (tomatoe) roots.

And while World Cup medals, trophies and winner’s bonuses will undoubtedly take pride of place in Ruiz and Gavi’s homes, only in this corner of Spain does sporting glory also come with enough tomatoes to keep the gazpacho flowing all summer.