Lots of irony

After European Championship title: Cucurella counters England legend

Marc Cucurella had an ironic message for England legend Gary Neville.(Bild: Associated Press, instagram.com/cucurella)

The European Championship title is probably balm for the soul for Spain's Marc Cucurella - he perhaps countered his biggest critic Gary Neville with an ironic post on Instagram.

At the start of the tournament, long-serving England international Neville identified Cucurella as Spain's biggest weakness. "The Spanish defense has a lot of experience, but there's something missing to give them confidence that they can do it (win the title, editor's note)," Neville said on "ITV Sport". "And I have to say, him starting at left-back is a good example of that."

Neville added: "He didn't convince at Chelsea. He's aggressive, tenacious and a hard-working full-back, but the price tag still baffles everyone."

Cucurella repaid faith
The 25-year-old Cucurella moved from Brighton Hove Albion to Chelsea FC two years ago for €65 million. Before the tournament, Alex Grimaldo from Bayer Leverkusen was expected to play in this position. However, Cucurella started every game and repaid coach Luis de la Fuente's trust with strong performances. With a passing accuracy of 92 percent and his assist in the European Championship final against England, he played a key role in Spain's fourth European Championship triumph.

Just a few hours after winning the title in Berlin, Cucurella responded to Neville's criticism. "We did it, Gary. Thanks for your support," the curly-haired player wrote ironically in his Instagram story.

(Bild: instagram.com/cucurella)

Bogeyman of the DFB fans
Cucurella also caused a stir at the European Championships when he blocked the ball with his hand after a shot in the match against Germany and no penalty whistle sounded. As a result, he became the bogeyman for Spain's other knockout games and was loudly booed by German fans every time he got the ball.