Former World Cup Winner Adil Rami Reveals Coach’s Influence on Choosing France Over Morocco

"I would have really liked to play with Morocco, of course. It’s a source of pride. Me, Claude Puel (his coach at the time at Lille, editor’s note) had told me: ’You don’t know that world yet, take your time, don’t put up any barriers.’ He already saw me in the French team. But I didn’t realize it. Already I couldn’t dream of being a professional footballer, it had happened in 8 months," Adil Rami confides during a live.

At the time, the Franco-Moroccan player felt that it would be impossible for him to join the Blues. "Dreaming of the French team, it was impossible, so I wanted to play for Morocco. And that’s when Claude Puel tells me that with all the respect he has for Morocco, I shouldn’t accept so as not to put up barriers," he recounts. An "injunction" that Adil took badly. "And I remember crying in my room, I told myself it’s Puel who launched me as a pro, I can’t be the big guy, too much recognition. I was crazy sad. Can you imagine if I accept Morocco and he doesn’t play me anymore, I’m dead," the former French international continues.

With the French team, Rami participated in Euro 2012. He is a finalist in the 2016 edition in France. In 2018, he wins the World Cup without having played a single match of the competition. After his international retirement, he became a football consultant for TF1 in 2022. The following year, he joined the Grosses Têtes team on RTL.