2 weeks Ago By Rob Swan
Oli McBurnie has stunned football fans by conducting a post-match interview in Spanish after Las Palmas secured a vital 3-1 win away at Getafe on Saturday. The 28-year-old, who joined his current club last summer after Sheffield United were relegated to the Championship, spoke to the media after scoring his second La Liga goal. McBurnie, who was born in Leeds but earned 16 caps for Scotland between 2018-2021, failed to score a single league goal during his first 25 appearances for Las Palmas.
But after ending his drought during a 3-1 defeat against Real Sociedad on April 6, the Brit now has two goals in his last two La Liga outings. Las Palmas’ victory over mid-table Getafe lifts them one place to 18th in the table, one point behind 17th-placed Alaves with seven matches of the season remaining. The Canary Islands outfit will need McBurnie chipping in with more goals over the coming weeks in order to avoid relegation.
La Liga Relegation Battle (As of April 12) Position Club Played Points 17. Alaves 30 30 18. Las Palmas 31 29 19.
Leganes 31 28 20. Real Valladolid 30 16 The 10 strongest players in British football history have been ranked, featuring Adebayo Akinfenwa. McBurnie's Spanish is Already Impressive Regardless of what happens, though, it’s clear that McBurnie has tried his hardest to adapt to life in Spain.
Many British players who’ve signed for overseas clubs in the past struggled to get to grips with the local language, but it’s clear that McBurnie has worked incredibly hard off the pitch to properly learn Spanish during his free time. Back in December, McBurnie told The Guardian that he and his Las Palmas teammate Scott McKenna, a fellow Scotland international who joined the club from Nottingham Forest in 2024, “speak to everyone in Spanish.” He added: “I understand one half, Scott understands the other and we get through.
I think we’re doing all right, aren’t we? We’re getting there.” Five months later and it’s clear that McBurnie now possesses an excellent grasp of Spanish already. A clip is currently being shared on social media showing the striker responding to questions in what sounds like near-fluent Spanish.
Watch the impressive video below: Football fans have subsequently praised McBurnie on social media for picking the language up so quickly. "This is brilliant, totally thrown himself into the culture and showing with a good run of fitness how good he can be,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter). A second commented: "Genuinely impressive that in 12 months.
" Another said: "Been playing in Spain since last summer and his Spanish is this good? Wow, well done Oli." While a fourth posted: "This rocks. Good on him to learn Spanish to this level after so little time there.
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