Barcelona Winger Ezzalzouli Eager to Represent Morocco at AFCON Despite Spain’s Interest

Summoned by Vahid Halilhodzic for the Africa Cup of Nations next month, the player, who will be making his first official selection, should be absent for several weeks to the great dismay of FC Barcelona and the Spanish federation.

"I discovered him recently and I spoke with him. He was playing in the reserve team and I could not call him up, but now he is playing with the first team. I saw that he had the necessary qualities to play in this team. He plays collectively, he is fast and he is able to make the difference on the sides. We don’t have many players of this type and I thought he could interest us," said coach Vahid, stating that Abde is very eager to play with Morocco and hopes to find an agreement with Barça so that there are no problems with his call-up for the Africa Cup of Nations.

For the national coach, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli "plays and is almost a starter. Even if it’s been just over a month since he’s been playing, I called him up because he plays in a team like Barcelona. I spoke to him twice and he is impatient to play with us. He is very proud to play with Morocco. We will discuss with the officials of his team, the president and the sporting director, so that they do not prevent him, because he is eligible. We will try to find a friendly agreement, we will explain the things and we will find an acceptable solution for all so that Abde can play the Africa Cup of Nations," he concluded.