Rabat – Following the Ajax Amsterdam vs Sparta Rotterdam game, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman suggested that dual nationality Moroccan players such as Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, and Oussama Idrissi choose to play for the Moroccan national team for financial gain.
During the Studio Voetbal program on Dutch channel NOS, Koeman insinuated that the Royal Moroccan Football Federation lures dual-nationality players to the national team with large sums of money.
Referring to Mohamed Ihattaren, the next PSV Eindhoven star, Koeman added that “if the player was given a large sum by Moroccan officials, their Dutch counterparts could not do much; it makes it difficult to convince them to play for our teams.”
“People invent the craziest things,” responded Ziyech when interviewed after the game. “I have not received any money to play with the Moroccan national team and the same applies to Noussair Mazraoui and Oussama Idrissi,” he continued.
There is currently a fierce competition between the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the Dutch Football Federation to persuade Ihattaren to play for their teams.
Ihattaren, on the other hand, affirmed that he wants to focus on his future internationally before deciding on which national team he will join. He also asked for some time to think about his final decision.
Koemen told NOS, “I think we have to do much more to convince them, but I also understand how ten or more players would choose to defend the colors of their home countries, whether it is Morocco or Turkey, at the expense of the Dutch team.”
Ziyech joined Ajax Amsterdam in 2017. He is also a key player in Morocco’s national football team, with whom he made his debut in October 2015 in a friendly match against Cote d’Ivoire.
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