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Join on Telegram Rabat – FC Barcelona rising star Abde Ezzalzouli is still making international headlines after expressing his desire to represent Morocco at international level despite pressure from Spain.
Morocco’s national team coach Vahid Halilhodzic included Ezzalzouli in his squad list for the upcoming African Cup of Nations (CAN).
Halilhodzic’s decision and Ezzalzouli’s interest in playing for the Moroccan football team did not sit well with the Spanish Football Federation, which has been actively working to convince the youngster to play for Spain instead.
In comments to Spanish sports news outlet Marca, Halilhodzic said Spain “cannot forbid” the Barcelona wonderkid from representing Morocco’s Atlas Lions.
“I found out about him recently and spoke with him. He was playing in the second team and couldn’t be called up, but now he is playing with the first team. I saw that he had the necessary quality for this team. He plays on the wing, he’s fast, he’s capable of making a difference on the sides. We don’t have many players like that and I thought we might be interested,” Halilhodzic said.
The coach emphasized that he has had two conversations with Ezzalzouli, who “is eager to play with us.”
Halilhodzic further suggested that the young player’s eye-catching performances with Barcelona in the past month have considerably improved his standing in the pecking order in the Moroccan national team.
“We will talk to the people in charge of his team, the president and the sports director, because they cannot prevent him from coming, he is selectable,” Halilhodzic explained.
He said the Moroccan Football Federation will try to reach a “friendly agreement, explain things and find an acceptable solution for all.”
But the Spanish Football Federation is reported to have been active in pressuring Ezzalzouli out of his decision to represent Morocco.
Ezzalzouli already made it clear that he is interested in playing for Morocco, with his social media saying that he plays for Barcelona at club level and Morocco at international level.
European clubs’ reluctance to let their best African players take part in the African Cup at the expense of upcoming season-defining games for the clubs has been a hot topic of contention in recent days.
In Ezzalzouli’s case, the additional complication of the Spanish league’s reported determination to get him to play for Spain means there might be more behind-the-scenes tussling before the talented youngster can play for the Atlas Lions in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
