Zinedine Zidane tried to convince Ayyoub Bouaddi to remain in France set-up before Morocco decision | OneFootball

He is undoubtedly one of the players whose name has been making the most headlines in the run-up to the World Cup.

Having enjoyed an excellent season with Lille OSC, Ayyoub Bouaddi (18) kept everyone guessing for a long time as to whether he would choose to represent France or Morocco at international level. And in the end, the young midfielder decided to pledge his allegiance to the Atlas Lions.

Selected for the World Cup, the native of Senlis, in the Paris region, certainly showed off his talent on the pitch against Brazil (1–1) in his debut appearance in the competition. However, according to reports from RMC Sport, it was indeed with Les Bleus that Bouaddi would have preferred to build his international career.

Zinedine Zidane, who is widely tipped to take over from Didier Deschamps after the World Cup, is said to have even spoken to him directly. Not to persuade him to choose France, but to give him a heads-up.

“Zidane spoke to Bouaddi and told him: ‘I like you, but I can’t promise you anything’,” said journalist Daniel Riolo on the programme L’After Foot. “So it’s not a case of: ‘I’ll pick you’,” he clarified. Be that as it may, Zidane – or someone else – will no longer have a choice to make. Because Bouaddi has made his.

GFFN | Léo Aschi