Luis Enrique Claims Ezzalzouli 'Chosen to Play for Spain'

Fez – It seems that there is still more to come in the Abde Ezzalzouli saga as the coach of Spain’s national team claims that the Moroccan-born Barcelna player has definitely “chosen to represent the Spanish side.”

The most recent developments in the case suggested that the young Barcelona star has still not made up his mind about whether to represent Morocco’s Atlas Lions or Spain’s La Roja.

There have been credible reports that Ezzalzouli’s decision not to play for Morocco at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon was due to his desire to establish himself within the Barcelona squad.

With the suggestion that travelling to Cameroon with Morocco would have negatively affected his short and medium-term future at Barcelona, Ezzalzouli is said to have opted to stay with his club while asking the Moroccan federation to give him until MArch to make his mind about which national team to represent.

However, Spain’s coach Luis Enrique claimed in an interview yesterday that the FC Barcelona wonderkid has already committed to representing Spain at international level.

“Ez Abde? If he is Spanish, he can come. He has chosen to play with the Spanish team and that is always good news. He has few participations at the high level, but what he has done is quite interesting,” Luis Enrique stated in an interview with the digital TV channel Movistar.

The Spanish team head coach seemed convinced of the Beni Mellal-born player’s final decision. Enrique’s statements appeared to challenge the position of Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of Morocco’s Royal Football Federation, who had previously stated that the Barcelona player could still join Morocco’s Atlas Lions later this year.

In an interview with Moroccan broadcasting station Radio Mars, Lakjaa indicated that Ezzalzouli has only asked for more time to decide between Morocco and Spain.

“I spoke to the player by phone and he asked me to give him some time to make his choice whether to represent [Spain or Morocco] in March,” Lakjaa said.

Ezzalzouli’s last-minute decision not to play with Morocco at the ongoing AFCON shocked many Moroccan fans and opened the door for more speculations about his future.

Speculation was further fueled after Spanish outlet El Mundo Deportivo wrote that the player’s decision to turn down Morocco’s head coach call-up for the AFCON was a “strategic step” to renounce his decision to represent Morocco and play for Spain instead.

There has been much talk about Ezzalzouli’s national team commitment in the past weeks. While the player initially expressed eagerness to play for Morocco’s team, reports indicated he might have been under tremendous pressure from the Spanish football federation to represent its national team.

Ezzalzouli has not yet made any official announcement about his final decision, and the understanding remains that he is still thinking about which of the two teams to commit to. It therefore remains to be seen whether Enrique’s latest statement is a decisive turn in the Moroccan-born player’s ultimate choice or mere talk to create more doubts in the Moroccan camp.