Jennifer Hermoso

Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes (born 9 May 1990), known as Jenni Hermoso, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL and for the Spain women's national team.

She is the all-time top scorer for Spain, and was part of her country's championship side at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she was also awarded the Silver Ball.

Hermoso developed through the youth teams of her hometown club Atlético Madrid, where she stayed for eight years before continuing on to Rayo Vallecano.

After developing with their youth teams, Hermoso made her senior debut for Atlético Madrid in the Segunda División on 5 December 2004, scoring a goal in a 6–0 victory over Vicálvaro.

In the 2005–06 season, she played 16 games and scored 12 goals, including the goal that secured Atléti's promotion to the Superliga against UE L'Estartit.

Rayo, who won the 2009–10 Superliga, were automatically qualified to the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 32.

Hermoso scored her first Champions League goals against Icelandic club Valur.

Rayo reached the knockout stages, where they were eliminated by Arsenal.

Hermoso left the club in 2010 after spending 8 years with Atlético.

Hermoso's signing to Rayo Vallecano was announced on 5 July 2010, alongside 7 other new signings.

In the final of the 2010–11 Superliga, Rayo Vallecano played RCD Espanyol in a two-legged tie.

In the first leg, Hermoso started and scored a penalty which gave Rayo the lead before an equalizer from Veronica Boquete.

Hermoso went on to score the tie-winning goal in the return leg, winning her first ever and Rayo's third league title.

As of 2021, it is the last major title Rayo have won.

Hermoso won her first senior title with Rayo in 2011, and in 2013, made her first international move to Tyresö FF in Sweden.

In qualification for the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League, Hermoso scored two goals against Estonian club Pärnu.

In the final match of qualifying, Hermoso scored her first Champions League hat-trick against Slovenian team ŽNK Krka.

Rayo finished the qualification round with 3 wins from 3 matches to advance to the Round of 32 of the Champions League, where Hermoso scored her first Champions League knockout round goal against Valur in the Round of 32.

Rayo were eliminated in the Round of 16, again against Arsenal.

In the 2011–12 league season, Rayo achieved fourth place.

Months later, she competed in the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 with Spain, scoring her first competitive international goal in a group stage win against England.

Hermoso moved to FC Barcelona in 2014, where she advanced her position from attacking midfielder to false 9.

Her positional change turned her to a prolific goalscorer, as she earned two Pichichi titles as the Spanish league's top scorer as well as two league titles and two Copas de la Reina.

She also competed with Spain at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Spain's first ever participation in the tournament.

After exiting Barcelona in 2017, Hermoso went abroad to PSG and then returned to Spain in the 2018–19 season to play for the club where she developed, Atlético Madrid.

She won her third Pichichi title and fourth league title there.

Hermoso rejoined FC Barcelona in 2019 following Spain's exit from the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament, where she finished as Spain's top scorer.

Individually, she finished both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 league seasons as the Primera División's top scorer, in 2020 and 2021 she finished as the top scorer in Europe's top five women's leagues, and in 2021, was the joint-top scorer in that season's UEFA Women's Champions League.

At the end of 2021, she finished second in Ballon d'Or voting and was the world's highest female goalscorer of the calendar year with 51 goals.

Following Barcelona's second-place finish in the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League, Hermoso signed for Pachuca in Mexico's Liga MX Femenil.

In 2023, Hermoso participated in her third World Cup with Spain, which they won for the first time in their history.

During the medal ceremony, Hermoso was kissed by then-RFEF president Luis Rubiales in an event that would later be called the Rubiales affair.

The kiss itself and Rubiales' response to the criticism against him sparked intense international backlash, the eventual removal of Rubiales and Spain head coach Jorge Vilda from the federation, and the ongoing promise of an immediate restructuring of the entirety of Spanish football.

Hermoso holds the record for the most all-time Pichichi trophies with five.

Hermoso also holds the record of the top all-time goalscorer for Spain, achieving this milestone in 2021.

Hermoso grew up playing futsal and seven-a-side football, sharing teams with boys throughout most of her youth.

Hermoso is the granddaughter of Antonio Hernández, a former goalkeeper for Atlético Madrid.

As a child, he would take her to watch Atlético's matches at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.

Hermoso began playing at Atlético Madrid at twelve years old with encouragement from her grandfather.

In her final three seasons at Barcelona, she won three league titles, three Copas de la Reina, and the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, alongside the continental treble that same season.