According to reports, Walid Regragui, the head coach of the Morocco national team, was a guest on the Spanish program El Chiringuito and spoke about various topics. Among them, he discussed the conversations he had with Yamal to convince him to play for Morocco and the response he received from the Barcelona player.

The Morocco national team coach initially said: “Lamine Yamal is a new-generation star whom we tried to bring to the Morocco national team, but it wasn’t possible.”

He then recounted several conversations he had with Yamal to persuade him and added: “Lamine Yamal was completely honest with me. I explained Morocco’s national team plans to him, including the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup.

But ultimately, two days later, he called me and confirmed that he considers himself Spanish, that he has played for Spain’s youth teams since his early days, and that this is very important to him. I wished him success, especially for the honesty and clarity he showed throughout our discussions.”