MOROCCO'S soccer legend, Mustapha Hadji, is sad that Barcelona's young talent, Lamine Yamal, chose to play for Spain rather than for his native country. Yamal, who has Moroccan roots, decided to represent the 2010 World Cup-winning team, which led to some disapproval from parts of the Moroccan football community.
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| Image / Amoasi Appiah |
In an interview with the Spanish media outlet AS, Hadji said, "Even if Yamal had played for Spain, the love the Spanish people have for him would never have matched the love Moroccans would have shown him.
It's a shame he didn't choose Morocco because it would have been a completely different story."
He continued, "I recently read in a Spanish newspaper that some journalists are saying: 'We have Pedri and we want him, we want Yamal, but we don't like him as much as Pedri.'
This alone shows he made a mistake. I wished he would have played for Morocco, and he will always be Moroccan even if he plays for Spain."
Meanwhile, Morocco is preparing for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, hoping to build on their memorable World Cup campaign.
The Atlas Lions will start their tournament against Comoros on Sunday, with ambitions to compete for the continental title.