Real Madrid Prodigy Thiago Pitarch Caught in Morocco-Spain National Team Tug-of-War

Thiago Pitarch, 17, is at the center of a battle between Morocco, his country of origin, and Spain, his country of birth. In early April, the Spanish Football Federation called up the promising young Real Madrid player for three days of training at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas with the Spanish national under-18 team. Meanwhile, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is trying again to convince the versatile young talent - capable of playing as an interior midfielder, attacking midfielder, and false left winger - to join the Atlas Lions squad.

In an interview with the Spanish media AS, Walid Regragui addressed the issue of recruiting dual-national players. He especially tried to put an end to allegations that Morocco was aggressively seeking players of Moroccan origin. "Yes, we are following Pitarch. But don’t think that Morocco is chasing after all players of Moroccan origin. We want the best. It’s up to him to choose. If he opts for Morocco, great. If not, we will respect his choice," he said. He explained: "Football has changed, the world has changed. [...] It’s a multicultural world. Look at Spain: Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand. What we want is for the best players to play with us."

The Morocco national team coach discussed the approach to player recruitment. "We do our job. We talk to players about the project, the fans, and the affection they will receive. Morocco now has world-class infrastructure and will host a World Cup with stadiums of the future," he said. His wish is for approached players to commit early to Morocco. "With the mindset I want for the national team, it’s better to choose early. Hesitation is synonymous with uncertainty. We discuss with them from a very young age to understand their attitude. If they choose Morocco, great. If they opt for France, Spain, Belgium... we wish them good luck," Regragui added.