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Rabat – Young aspiring football player Youssef Enriquez announced that he will be playing with Morocco’s national football team.
In a post on Instagram, Enriquez wrote: “Proud to be called for the first time to play with Morocco’s national team.”
Attached to the Instagram post was a picture of Enriquez wearing the Moroccan jersey.
The 17-year-old currently plays as a left-back for Spanish football club Real Madrid.
News of Enriquez’s opting to play for Morocco comes days after Yamal opted to play for Spain after Spanish media launched a heavy campaign to sway the decision of the young Barcelona prodigy.
The ongoing media scrutiny surrounding the 16-year-old athlete’s choice is not a unique occurrence within Spanish football. Throughout the years, Spanish media has gained a reputation for wielding substantial sway over dual-nationality players, encouraging them to opt for Spain in their international careers.
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Two notable cases that bear a resemblance to Yamal’s situation are those of Abde Ezzalzouli, who plays as a winger for FC Barcelona and is headed to Real Betis for the rest of this season, and UD Las Palmas forward Munir El Haddadi.
The two Moroccan players faced considerable media scrutiny, as Spanish media outlets relentlessly urged them to commit to the Spanish national team and spread false rumors about them choosing Spain over Morocco.
Two prominent instances resembling Yamal’s case involve Abde Ezzalzouli, a winger at FC Barcelona, and Munir El Haddadi, a forward at UD Las Palmas. The two Moroccan players encountered substantial media attention, with Spanish media persistently pushing them to pledge their allegiance to the Spanish national team and circulating untrue speculations regarding their preference for Spain over Morocco.
A recent report from AS argues that in recent years, Morocco and Spain have been involved in a tug-of-war over young talents who hold both nationalities.
Commencing on Enriquez’s case, the AS report claimed that “the Atlas Lions are not making a move to have Yusi debut with the senior national team.”
It added that “this was the Moroccan strategy with Achraf Hakimi, who had captivated Luis de la Fuente (then the coach of our U-19 team), and the prospect of debuting at such a young age – he did so at 18 – at the highest level with Morocco tipped the balance toward that country.”
Read Also: Spanish Media Exerts Pressure on Lamine Yamal to Choose Spain over Morocco
