Real Madrid game director Brahim Diaz made his decision to play for Morocco, amid criticism for the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The 24-year-old, who was born and raised in Malaga, will play for his parents' heritage country after being called up by Walid Regragui to face Angola and Mauritania.
Brahim initially wanted to play for Spain, and has been captained once again by La Roja in 2021, after an under-23 squad stepped in for the senior team who were suffering a bout of Covid-19 ahead of the Euros . However, Morocco were persistent in their efforts to persuade Brahim to play for them, and hearing that he would not enter the Spanish team, he decided to play for the Atlas Lions.
The RFEF is Spain The coach Luis de la Fuente has been under fire for not calling Brahim and closing his future, or at least talking privately with him to keep Brahim who feels so close to the team. De la Fuente told the press on Monday that first of all, the players “have to want to play for Spain”.
There is little argument to say that Brahim should be called up again ahead of others until this international window, other than to secure his international future. It is certainly a curious case, however, as La Roja have always been quick to move for the likes of Bojan Krkic, Munir El Haddadi and most recently Lamine Yamal.