Tag Archives: Lamine Yamal

Brahim Díaz to Switch International Allegiance from Spain to Morocco

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It’s This Time for Africa for Brahim Díaz.

The 24-year-old half-Spanish soccer player and Real Madrid forward will represent Morocco over Spain at the international level due to a lack of communication from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), according to ESPN.

Brahim Diaz,Díaz was born in Malaga to a Spanish mother and a Moroccan father. He has represented his country of birth at various youth levels and even has one cap for the senior side, but Morocco have convinced him to switch international allegiance.

Save a late twist, he will be named in the Atlas Lions squad for the first time later this week for fixtures against Angola and Mauritania later this month.

Sources close to Díaz told ESPN there is disappointment and surprise at how the RFEF have dealt with the situation, given how they have acted differently in similar cases.

The sources highlight the push to persuade Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, who was also eligible to play for Morocco, to pick Spain as well as the fact that the RFEF sent high-ranking officials to meet Yamal as early as 2022.

Sources at the RFEF, though, insist they have treated Díaz the same as other players who had the opportunity to represent more than one country, adding they don’t understand his switch.

“Everyone is free to make their own decisions. For me, there are three steps to be called up: firstly, that you are eligible, secondly that you want to play for the national team and thirdly that the coach selects you,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told reporters on Monday.

“I have not spoken with [Díaz]. I either call players up or not and the [players] do what they have to do. I worked with him a lot [with the U21s] and I hold him in high esteem and have a lot of respect for him.

Morocco worked hard over a series of calls and in-person meetings, with sources adding that national team coach Walid Regragui played a key role in finally convincing Díaz to pick the north African country.

Díaz’s priority had been to play for Spain. The former Manchester City forward was even capped for the senior side in 2021 when an outbreak of COVID-19 forced La Roja to field their under-21 team against Lithuania. Díaz scored in the 4-0 friendly win.

As the match was a friendly, Diaz remains free to switch international allegiance due to FIFA‘s eligibility rules.

Since that game, his career has continued to progress. He impressed during three years on loan at AC Milan and has played an important role for Madrid since returning at the start of the season.

His form in recent weeks — including decisive goals against Atlético Madrid and RB Leipzig — led to reports that Spain coach de la Fuente was going to call him up for this month’s games against Colombia and Brazil.

Morocco were one of the surprise teams at the 2022 World Cup, knocking Spain out en route to the semifinal, where they eventually succumbed to France.

They didn’t have as much success at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, losing to South Africa in the round of 16.

Premier League Teams Eyeing FC Barcelona Phenom Pau Cubarsí

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It appears that all eyes are on Pau Cubarsí.

The 17-year-old Spanish soccer player, a defender for F.C. Barcelona, is being targeted by several Premier League clubs with his release clause set at around €10 million ($10.7m), per ESPN.

Pau CubarsíCubarsí only signed his first professional contract with Barça last year, but his emergence in the first team has accelerated the need for the club to agree a new deal with the teenager. 

Barça was already negotiating an improvement with the center-back’s camp, but sources explain his performances with the first team have “changed the starting point” when it comes to reaching an understanding over a new long-term agreement.

Sources close to the coaching staff detail the maturity and bravery Cubarsí has demonstrated since being handed his debut as a 16-year-old in the Copa del Rey against Unionistas de Salamanca in January.

Cubarsí has since made six appearances under coach Xavi Hernández, including starts in LaLiga wins against Real Betis, Osasuna and Alavés.

“We were joking about him the other day because at just 17 he already seems like a veteran,” Xavi said after last weekend’s 3-1 win over Alavés.

“He is already playing like a player who is far older than his years. He is aggressive, he does not lose possession and he’s so good at bringing the ball out from the back.”

Those qualities have led to an urgency to renew Cubarsí’s contract as some of England’s biggest clubs circle due to his clause being fixed at a relatively affordable €10m.

Cubarsí joined Barça in 2018 as an 11-year-old after spending four years at Girona. He has since progressed through the Catalan club’s La Masia academy before he made his Barça Atlétic debut earlier this season as he began to train regularly with the first team.

Xavi handed him his first-team debut on Jan. 19. He has made six appearances since, impressing at the heart of the defense alongside Uruguay international Ronald Araújo.

“He’s very well prepared,” Xavi said of Cubarsí after he made his LaLiga debut against Betis in January, just days before his 17th birthday.

“He doesn’t seem 16 when you speak with him. He is a focused and responsible kid. I don’t think he lost a single ball, either.

“He’s going to mark an era, the same as Lamine [Yamal] .We are continuing to build a team with young footballers. These are players who we must build the club’s future with.”

Cubarsí is one of several youngsters to breakthrough under Xavi, with Yamal (16), Hector Fort (17) and Marc Guiu (18) among the others to have made an impact this season.

Fort, who can play across the back four but is primarily a full-back, is close to being signed to Jorge Mendes‘ agency, sources have told ESPN.

Lamine Yamal Signs First Professional Contract with Barcelona

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Lamine Yamal has signed his first professional contract with Barcelona.

With the new deal, the 16-year-old Spanish soccer player has extended his stay at the Catalan club until at least 2026.

Lamine Yamal Yamal, a winger, put pen to paper on the deal — which includes a €1 billion ($1.05bn) release clause — at Barça‘s training ground on Monday at an event also attended by president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco.

Until he turns 18, Yamal cannot sign a contract for longer than three years, which is the reason he has not signed longer terms.

It has been a record-breaking year for the forward, who made his first team debut in April while he was still 15, becoming the youngest player to represent Barça in LaLiga. He has since gone on to become the youngest player to ever play and score for Spain, netting on his debut against Georgia earlier this month.

Meanwhile, at club level, he has established himself in Xavi Hernandez‘s squad, making nine appearances in all competitions so far this season, including four starts. He set up the winner, an own goal by Sergio Ramos, in Friday’s 1-0 victory over Sevilla in LaLiga as Barça maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Further records could fall in the coming weeks, with Yamal still able to become the youngest-ever goal scorer in LaLiga and the Champions League. That record is held by Ansu Fati in the Champions League, whose goal against Inter Milan for Barça in 2019 came when he was 17 years and 40 days old.

In LaLiga, though, he is running out of time. He has just one game left — away at Granada on Sunday — to beat the mark set by Fabrice Olinga, who was 16 years and 98 days old when he scored for Malaga a decade ago.

Yamal first joined Barça in 2013 from local Catalan club CF Torreta and has since progressed through the academy, racing through the age groups until reaching the first team this year.