Agadir- Munir El Haddadi’s father has said that his son would have played for Morocco if they had called first.
Talking to Spanish Primer Toque programme, Mohammed El Haddadi said that Mounir would have represented whichever country had contacted him first.
“My son said to me ‘father I don’t know what I’m going to do’. I told him to go with whoever calls you first.” El Haddadi senior said.
Munir made his debut with la Roja on Monday in the 5-1 victory against Macedonia in the European Championship qualifiers.
“They [Spain] called first and he went with them. If Morocco had called he would also have gone there. I’ve always said to him it is whoever opens the door first.
“But I am very happy for him. I didn’t know he was going reach here and I didn’t think it would happen so fast, but it has happened and it went well.
“I realized he had the talent to be a footballer when he went to Barcelona. The only thing I ask is that God helps him, nothing more,” he added.
Yet, Munir was quoted as saying that he made his mind since the very beginning and that he always intended to represent Spain rather than the country of his parents.
“I never doubted about playing for Spain,” he told Teledeporte. “I was born here and I am very happy to have made my debut.
“To play for Spain was my own decision. I knew what it meant to appear for Spain. This is a childhood dream come true,” he said.
The Barcelona forward has been criticized for not choosing Morocco, especially from Morocco’s coach Badou Ezzaki who said that “patriotism is not something to negotiate.”
