"Sport means youth, sports means honesty. Spain and Croatia have done a lot on that front. We will honour Davor Suker who is a Croat, but we see him as a Spaniard as well. Through him, we honour the many Croatian athletes who do a lot for our relations. They deserve the credit for the fact that Spaniards increasingly love Croatia, and also for the fact that Croats are getting to know Spain more and more," said the diplomat.
Suker, who played for Sevilla from 1991 to 1996 and Real Madrid from 1996 and 1999, winning the 1998 UEFA Champions League and the 1998 Intercontinental Cup, thanked him for the award and presented him with a shirt, half of which represents the Croatian national team's jersey and the other half the Spanish national team's jersey.