Albares reiterates his criticism of Rajoy's words, sends advice to Feijóo, and states that the PP is "an obstacle to foreign policy"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has once again spoken out this Tuesday against the words of former President of the Government Mariano Rajoy about the French national team after he stated in an opinion column that they possess "a very high level, yes, without Frenchmen." In this regard, the head of Spanish Foreign Affairs

During his statements on the 'Cadena SER' program, Hoy por Hoy, Albares assured that he has already personally conveyed to France that Rajoy's words do not reflect the feeling of the majority of Spanish citizens. "I made it clear to my French counterpart that Rajoy's words are not the majority feeling of Spaniards," he stated.

Albares defended the diverse nature of national teams and cited the Spanish team as an example. "I am very proud that there are Spaniards like Lamine Yamal or Nico Williams; as well as Oyarzabal or Laporte," he pointed out.

The head of Spanish diplomacy considered it especially worrying to question a person's citizenship based on their origins or physical appearance. In this regard, he warned that "it is something very serious to go around pointing out who is a citizen of a country and who is not." Furthermore, he added that "pointing out by skin color who can be a citizen or who cannot be, conceals things that are not only hurtful, but very, very dangerous."

🎙️ @jmalbares: "Que el partido de la oposición vaya abiertamente al choque con nuestro principal socio comercial..."

"El PP sueña con Perejil en vez de con la amistad que tenemos con Marruecos"

"El PP es un estorbo para la política exterior de España" pic.twitter.com/aD8Onkye7x

— Hoy por Hoy (@HoyPorHoy) July 14, 2026

He also criticized "that the opposition party openly clashes with our main trading partner..." constitutes an attitude difficult to understand. On the other hand, the minister also referred to the relationship between Spain and Morocco, an issue on which he accused the PP of maintaining positions far from the country's strategic interests. "The PP dreams of Perejil instead of the friendship we have with Morocco," he maintained.

In the same vein, he went so far as to define the popular party as "an obstacle to Spain's foreign policy" and questioned the strategy of the party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo. "Why does the PP believe it will get votes by making Spain do badly? It says very little about a party that supposedly aspires to govern," he stated.

Albares closed his criticisms with a message directly addressed to the leader of the opposition. "I would give Feijóo a piece of advice: there are many moments to be in opposition, but there are others to be Spain," he concluded.

Albares demands Feijóo disavow Rajoy 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has also spoken out against the words of the former president. Upon his arrival at the meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, the minister assured that Rajoy's words are "absolutely unacceptable" and stressed that they do not represent either the Government or Spanish society.

As he indicated, he had a conversation with his French counterpart to reiterate the friendship between both countries and disassociate the Executive from those words. In addition, Albares commented: "What Mr. Rajoy wrote is absolutely unacceptable. Nothing that closely or remotely could cover up racism or xenophobia represents Spain."

He also demanded that the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, publicly disavow Mariano Rajoy and demanded a public rectification and withdrawal of the text from the media outlet that published the article. 

France intensifies its criticism

The words of former PP Government President Mariano Rajoy, about the French national football team, have generated a wave of criticism from the PSOE, the Government, and multiple public figures. Likewise, from France, they have spoken out condemning the former president's statements. On the one hand, the French Foreign Minister, Jean Nöek Barrot, has described them as "pathetic" and, the latest to speak out have been the deputies of the far-right party National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen. 

In this regard, the spokesperson for the far-right formation, Julien Odoul, has stated: "Mr. Rajoy is a racist. Simply put, his statements are scandalous, shameful, and regrettable. Everyone should condemn them." 

He also continued: "That is totally the antithesis of the French project which consists of having three colors: blue, white, and red, whatever the origin or religion of each one."

Along these lines, the French Foreign Minister, Jean Nöek Barrot, has spoken out, expressing that "those statements are pathetic. Once and for all, France has no skin color. Any statement to the contrary is the result of stupidity, racism, or a combination of both." "Stupidity, mediocrity, and racism," he continued his criticism of the former president. He also praised the response of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who called Rajoy's words "xenophobic." Thus, the French Foreign Minister asserted that "he responded very well."