Verónica Boquete Giadáns (born 9 April 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina.

[2][3][4] She stood out with RCD Espanyol in her early career, winning two Copas de la Reina with the club between 2008 and 2011, additionally earning a Pichichi Trophy for her 39 goals scored in the 2010–11 Superliga Femenina campaign, which remains a Spanish first division record.

Since departing Frankfurt, Boquete has played for teams in France, China, the United States, and Italy, and has most recently spent four years in the latter country between AC Milan and Fiorentina.

Following their group stage elimination from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Boquete famously led the players of the Spain national team in protest against the continued employment of Ignacio Quereda, who they alleged was verbally and physically abusive.

Following Quereda's resignation and Jorge Vilda's subsequent hiring, her role in the team gradually lessened until she was controversially omitted from Spain's 2017 UEFA Women's Euro squad.

After winning the 2004 U-19 Women's Euro, Boquete received offers from many Spanish clubs but decided to finish her Bachillerato before making her first big career move.

[16] In her year back with Espanyol, she was unable to repeat her past accomplishments in the Copa de la Reina, but found great success individually.

[14] Espanyol reached the 2011 Copa de la Reina final, but Boquete was not present as she had already joined the WPS's Philadelphia Independence in the United States.

In the months leading up to the final, Boquete suffered two major injuries – an overload of her calf muscle and a ligament tear in her quadriceps of her right leg.

[36][37] She went on to score four goals and record six assists in her 15 total appearances for the Thorns, culminating with the team's semi-final loss against FC Kansas City on 23 August 2014.

The club defended their Bundesliga title victory, but fell to FC Twente in the Round of 32 of the 2015-16 UEFA Women's Champions League knockout stage.

[citation needed] By early 2018, Boquete became dissatisfied with her reduced playing time and agreed a mutual termination of her contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

[57] Following her stints in Bayern and PSG where she struggled to find her place in either team, Boquete accepted an offer from Beijing BG Phoenix, her first footballing experience outside of Europe or the United States.

[62] Amidst internal issues and controversy within the Real Salt Lake organization, Boquete confirmed in November 2020 that she would not be returning to Utah for the 2021 NWSL season, and that she would go back to playing football in Europe.

Prior to her departure announcement, she was not part of Milan's squad for any of their seven most recent matches, fueling reports of conflict with head coach Maurizio Ganz.

[citation needed] Boquete's senior Spain women's national football team debut came in February 2005, in a 0–0 friendly draw with the Netherlands.

[citation needed] In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Boquete as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.

[78] Additionally, they were poorly physically prepared and did not participate in any friendly matches in the six months leading up to the tournament, all events that established a great sense of tension in Spain's squad.

In the final group game against South Korea at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa, both teams were playing for a place in the last 16; Boquete opened the scoring although Spain was unable to hold the lead and lost 2–1.

[88][89][90] Once the team returned to Spain, Boquete spoke to the media in the Madrid–Barajas airport and told them that the players were a united front, and that they demand that the RFEF create a "serious project.

They complained that they used outdated training methods from the beginning of Quereda's tenure, that they were unprepared for the tournament after arriving late and not playing any matches for months, and that they didn't receive any analysis or background on their World Cup opponents.

"[94][95] In his place, the Federation appointed Jorge Vilda, who had coached and found success with multiple Spanish women's youth national team sections.

[8][100][101] Shortly after, she posted a letter to the public on social media expressing her sadness for not being called up, and wishing good luck to her teammates at the competition.

On 28 October 2021, she was featured in a Movistar+ documentary called Romper El Silencio ("Break the Silence"), where she detailed her experiences while playing in the Spanish national team under Quereda.

Boquete, alongside former teammates Vicky Losada, Natalia Pablos, and Mar Prieto, said in the documentary that Quereda was psychologically abusive, vocally homophobic, controlling, and that he created a toxic playing environment in the national team for decades.

[citation needed] On 25 August, Boquete brought together 80 other current and former Spanish international footballers into a WhatsApp group chat which she titled "Off to War," where they organized to write and sign a letter stating that they would not return to the national team unless Luis Rubiales was removed from his position within the RFEF.

[120] In 2013, Boquete started a petition on Change.org, which called upon video game producer Electronic Arts to introduce female players in its FIFA series and attracted 20,000 signatures in 24 hours.

[121][122] The petition was eventually successful, as EA Sports revealed in May 2015 that she and the rest of Spain would join 11 other female international teams (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Sweden and the United States) in FIFA 16, which was released in September 2015 (on the 22nd in North America and the 24th in Europe) for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and also on Windows PC.

[84][125] Additionally, Boquete prefers to wear the number 21 on her jersey in honor of Espanyol's Dani Jarque, who died of a heart attack in 2009 while she was at the club.

Specifically, she supports a charity based in Saint Lucia, which aims to help women achieve social and economic advancement through sport.