Espanyol wants to get back on track with a viral, anti-racist striker.

Barcelona2026 has started off on the wrong foot for Espanyol, who after a brilliant end to the year, with five consecutive victoriesThey have now gone five games without a win, although they remain in European qualification positions. They are without Javi Puado, who is out with a long-term injury. Luka KoleoshoWith the departure of [name missing] to Paris FC and the young Javi Hernández on loan at Mirandès, the only new face in the Espanyol squad is Cyril Ngonge (Uccle, 2000), a Belgian striker on loan from Napoli, the reigning Italian league champions. "I'm intuitive, technically gifted, and unpredictable. I also have an eye for goal," said Ngonge at his presentation. He prefers to play as a second striker or right winger, and Napoli paid Hellas Verona €20 million for him two years ago. If Espanyol wants to make the move permanent at the end of the season, they will have to pay €16 million.

From Hitler to Luther King

The first photographs of him as a Espanyol player were taken at the RCDE Stadium last Friday night, just after the Espanyol's defeat against AlavésThe ink decorates his arms, and as soon as the club released images of Ngonge, a rumor spread across social media, fueled by Grok—X's artificial intelligence—that one of his tattoos was of Adolf Hitler giving the fascist salute.

Quite the opposite; it's Martin Luther King during his speech at the March on Washington for Civil Rights in 1963, the day he uttered his most famous phrase: "And have a dream"This icon of the anti-racist struggle holds a prominent place on the left arm of Ngonge, born in Belgium but of African descent from the Democratic Republic of Congo—a Belgian colony until 1960. In fact, the player's father, Michel Ngonge, who as a footballer reached the English Premier League with Watford, played in the Africa Cup of Nations with two different national teams from the same country: Zaire (1996) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2000), the country's official name since 1997.

Shortly after Michel Ngonge's elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana and Nigeria, Espanyol's newest player was born. Raised in Uccle, a small town south of Brussels, he began playing football in Anderlecht's youth academy. There he met Olympic cycling champion Remco Evenepoel, who at 17 had traded the ball for a bicycle. They became close friends, and recently the Belgian television channel RTBF Sport connected them through a video in which Evenepoel congratulated Ngonge, visibly moved to see him, on his football career and invited him to meet again during a race in Italy. Now that he's with Espanyol, they could meet next month in Barcelona, ​​as Evenepoel is one of the headliners of this year's Volta a Catalunya, which finishes in the Catalan capital.

As a teenager, Ngonge switched from Anderlecht to Club Brugge, their biggest rival. Despite language, adaptation, and behavioral issues, he eventually made his debut with the first team at 18. He then moved to a more competitive league, the Dutch Eredivisie, and after playing for PSV Eindhoven and RKC Waalwijk, he made a name for himself at Groningen with a scorpion kick goal. It went viral, and even FIFA shared his goal on social media, declaring it the best of the season in the Eredivisie. Van der Vaart commented on the post. This thrilled Ngonge, who gained several thousand followers on Instagram and, months later, as an established footballer, landed in northern Italy.

Michel Ngonge, the voice of experience, warns him about the dangers of fame and money; and Maxim, his brother, who works in business, advises him on finance and investments. Unlike his father, Cyril has always played for the Belgian national team. An international at every youth level, he made his senior debut at the end of 2014, and now, after a half-season loan at Torino, he hopes that a strong finish to the season with Espanyol will convince his national team coach to take him to next summer's World Cup. His success will be intertwined with that of Espanyol, who this Monday in Villarreal (9 p.m., DAZN), with Ngonge now available for Manolo González, will try to finally get their season off to a flying start.