Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi has explained his decision to represent the Moroccan national team rather than Spain, despite having been called up to La Roja’s youth teams whilst at Real Madrid.
Hakimi said on Thursday, during an appearance on the podcast “THE BRIDGE”, in comments reported by the Moroccan newspaper “Al-Batal”: “I started with Morocco, but Spain called me up, and I was at Real Madrid at the time.”
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The former Real Madrid star added: “They told me at Real Madrid: ‘Why don’t you go and train for two or three days (with Spain) to see how you feel?’”
He continued: “I did go and give it a go, but I didn’t feel comfortable… I said I felt comfortable continuing my career – and for my father’s sake – with Morocco, and things went well there… I chose Morocco even before joining Real Madrid’s first team; you have to make that decision based on how you feel.”
Hakimi added: “It’s more of a personal matter than someone coming to talk to you about the project… Today there’s one manager, and tomorrow another comes along with a different mindset.”