M“It’s a shame that Lamine Yamal didn’t choose Morocco,” Mustafa Hadji, an Orocco footballer who played for Deportivo La Coruña (1997-1999) and Espanyol (2004) in La Liga, told Al Arabiya Sports.
It is sad that as I read recently in a Spanish newspaper, some journalists said: “We love Yamal, but not as much as Pedri.”
Lamine Yamal coaches Pedri in a no-drop game during practice
“Lamine Yamal plays for the Spanish national team, but the love he receives from Spaniards is never the same as the love he receives from Moroccans,” said the 54-year-old former footballer.
“It’s a real shame that Lamine Yamal didn’t choose Morocco, because if he had, the situation would have been different,” Haji said.
I wanted him to play for Morocco. Lamine Yamal will always remain Moroccan even if he plays for Spain
“It’s sad, because as I read recently in a Spanish newspaper, some journalists were saying: ‘We have Pedri, we want Pedri, we want Yamal, but we don’t want him as much as Pedri,'” admitted the former footballer, who has 63 caps for Morocco. “That means it’s a bad choice.”
“I wanted him to play in Morocco. Even if he plays in Spain, Lamine Yamal will always remain Moroccan,” he said.
Moroccan version of why Lamine Yamal decided to play for Spain: “He wasn’t lying”
In August 2023, Lamine Yamal put aside the possibility of playing in Morocco and said “yes” to Spain.
The 18-year-old FC Barcelona star has agreed to play for the Spanish national team after discussions with Walid Reglagui (Moroccan coach) and with representatives of the Spanish federation (Francis Hernández and Vicente Blanco) in Barcelona.
“Lamine Yamal is a generational talent and we tried hard to get him to play in Morocco, but he chose Spain. We wish him all the best,” Morocco coach and former Racing Santander player Walid Reglagui explained on El Chiringuito.
