Barcelona’s Ezzalzouli in Talks to Skip AFCON Amid Club Commitments

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli is trying to reach an agreement with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) not to play with the Moroccan Atlas Lions in the coming weeks at the 2021 AFCON scheduled from January 9 to February 6 in Cameroon. These last-minute negotiations are justified by the fact that his club, FC Barcelona, must play critical matches in the coming weeks, including the long-awaited final of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid in Riyadh.

Bad news for the Atlas Lions coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, who was seduced by the recent performances of the FC Barcelona winger, whom he describes as "fast and able to make a difference on the sides". "We don’t have many players like that and I thought we might be interested," he said. "We will talk to the officials of his team, the president and the sporting director, because they cannot forbid him to come" to play for the national team, added the Franco-Bosnian technician.

According to FIFA regulations, the player cannot reject the proposal and the Spanish club cannot prevent Abdessamad Ezzalzouli from participating in the AFCON.