World Cup Winner Adil Rami Reveals Choice Between France and Morocco National Teams

After his remarkable performances at Lille, Adil Rami joined Valencia, then AC Milan before landing at FC Seville, with whom he won the Europa League in 2016. The defender of Moroccan origin has the 2018 World Cup victory with the French national team etched in his memory.

"When I meet people and talk a little bit about me, I become nostalgic! I tell them: ’I wasn’t the best player in the world even though I won a lot of titles. I played a dozen finals against the best players in the world at the time’. So I tell them that I’m proud," he confided in an interview with La Provence in 2022.

Adil Rami might not have had this exceptional career if he had chosen to play for the Moroccan national team, his country of origin. The defender had expressed his intention to join the den of the Atlas Lions, but had changed his mind at the last minute. The 39-year-old player returned to his decision during an interview with Canal +.

"The evenings in Casablanca and Marrakech are nice, but I never choose my professional destinations for the evenings. When Morocco approaches me, I have finally integrated the demands of the highest level. As I didn’t do a training center, no one ever taught me to play football and manage the extras. When I integrate these things, I just want to be the best," he explained.

The turning point came from a conversation with Claude Puel, then coach of Lille. "Claude Puel had told me: ’you don’t know that world yet, take your time, don’t put any barriers on yourself.’ He already saw the French team in me. But I didn’t realize it. I couldn’t even dream of being a professional footballer, it had happened in 8 months."