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Pablo Fornals’ love for West Ham comes from the heart
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 13: Pablo Fornals of West Ham United celebrates after scoring their side's second goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Aston Villa at London Stadium on March 13, 2022 in London, England.
Pablo Fornals is the model student who always asks for extra homework. The reliable friend who is an alibi for your drunken nights. The partner who smiles at the waiter although you’ve both been served meals you didn’t order. The co-worker who will happily swap swifts. And for West Ham United fans, he is the footballer they cherish.
If you were to survey the streets of Stratford on a match day, many would say their favourite player is Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen or Michail Antonio. But if you were to ask who they would have round for dinner, Fornals would be a firm favourite.
You sense the evening would be so enjoyable the knock on the door won’t be from the neighbours to keep the noise down, but to ask if they can join in.
Over the years, many signings have not appreciated playing for West Ham. There have even been occasions where some have viewed it as an opportunity to earn one last pay-day. Fornals, however, is an exception. He is one of the rare signings from overseas to become West Ham through and through.
The now 26-year-old has been a fan favourite since joining from Villarreal in his native Spain in July 2019 for ÂŁ24 million.
What makes Fornals so likeable is that everything he does appears genuine. He isn’t doing it to impress, he isn’t after Brownie points from fans or being an attention-seeker. It comes from the heart.
You have probably seen the video of him singing, “West Ham are massive everywhere we go” following the memorable 2-0 victory over Sevilla that took the club into next month’s Europa League quarter-finals. And that isn’t the first time he has endeared himself to supporters and team-mates alike.
The midfielder had T-shirts printed up of the team’s synchronised celebration against Tottenham Hotspur last season. He has been on bike rides around London with team-mate Antonio — who has started learning Spanish, given their strong bond. Fornals dresses his four-month-old son, Martin, in West Ham kit.
Eight months after joining the club, Fornals attempted to sing Forever Blowing Bubbles on social media.
“I need to improve my English,” he deadpanned. But supporters appreciated the fact he tried.
For most playmakers, providing an assist brings the same pleasure as scoring a goal yourself. But in the case of Fornals, his reaction to Declan Rice’s late equaliser against Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup last month was a reminder of his love for the club.
The six-cap Spain international has become a key member of Moyes’ side.
Fornals has six goals and four assists in 42 appearances this season, and certainly looks capable of scoring more than the career-high six goals he registered in 2016-17 for boyhood club Malaga.
But it hasn’t been easy for Fornals in England, with his debut campaign seeing plenty of struggle. He wasn’t a regular in the team under then-manager Manuel Pellegrini and didn’t score in his first 17 Premier League appearances, before ending that drought against Leicester City just after the Christmas.
At times, his true value was not fully appreciated.
Now, his chant is one of the many supporters serenade the players with during games.
Fornals’ mother attended the 1-0 first-leg defeat in Seville. She sat in the lower tier of the away enclosure and was in tears as the travelling fans chorused her son’s name long after the final whistle.
“I don’t know how my chant started,” he says. “Obviously, I don’t think the song keeps going, because we’re not going to Vienna anymore (after playing the Austrian city’s Rapid in the Europa League group phase), but it was really funny and I was really proud when I saw my fanbase singing a song for me.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it for the first time.
“It’s not easy to arrive in a new country at a new team, and my first year here wasn’t as good as how I am playing and how everything is right now, so having this chant and having this friendship with the fans is massive for me. I’m honestly really happy.
“There are a few places with really good paella. There is one on Oxford Street with a Spanish chef which is really good, and there is also a new company around Essex who will bring you paella at home! They’re really, really good as well!”
Ever found money in the pocket of an item of clothing you haven’t worn in ages? If so, you’ll know how it brightened up your day. That is similar to how Fornals makes the West Ham fanbase feel.
Everyone was on the high after that win over six-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners Sevilla, who are second behind only Real Madrid in La Liga.
Then you watch that video of Fornals singing the day after and you can’t help but smile again.
His contributions on the field remain important, but his likeable personality off it is why he has a soft spot reserved in the hearts of so many West Ham fans.
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