Lamine Jamal: This is the reason I chose to represent Spain and I respect Morocco | sports

Lamine Jamal, the jewel of Barcelona, ​​revealed the reason for his choice to represent the Spanish national team instead of Morocco, expressing at the same time his great love for his second country.

Lamine gave a long interview to the 60 Minutes program on the American CBS channel, during which he touched on many matters, most notably his football dreams, his view of football, and the reasons for his preference for Spain over Morocco.

Behind the scenes of the selection of Lamine Beauty of Spain

“I was seriously thinking about playing for the Moroccan national team, which had just reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, but in the moment of truth I never doubted my choice to represent Spain,” Lamine said.

He explained, “With my love and respect for Morocco, I have always wanted to play in the European Cup. The idea of ​​European football is more followed at the international level, and I wanted to win the Euro, and this has been achieved, thank God, and now I want to play in the World Cup and try to win it.”

Lamine continued, “I will always love Morocco, as it is my country as well. It would not be strange or bad if I played for them, but Spain used to play the Euro, and I grew up in Spain and I feel that it is my homeland as well.”

It is noteworthy that Lamine Jamal was born in 2007 in the town of Esplugas de Llobregat, located within the Barcelona borders, to a Moroccan father, Mounir Nasraoui, and a mother from Equatorial Guinea, named Sheila Ebana, and he grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Rocafunda.

Lamine’s favorite goal

When asked about his favorite goal in his career so far, he replied, “I have 3 or 4, but if I had to choose one, the most important and beautiful one is my goal against France in the European Cup semi-finals.”

#EURO2024 Highlights

Lamine #Yamal in #ESPFRA. @SEFutbol | @SpainIsFootball pic.twitter.com/bBkxNtbyJE

— UEFA EURO (@EURO2024DE) July 21, 2024

Lamine Jamal is preparing to compete in the first World Cup in his career, after Spain’s success in reaching the World Cup scheduled for next summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Regarding this, Lamine said, “I have high expectations for this participation. It has been a long time in which Spain did not enter the World Cup as a candidate to win. I see the enthusiasm in the country, and I am also excited and look forward to the tournament with great passion.”

Regarding Spain’s ability to win the title, Lamine answered with one word, “Yes.”

“My goal is to entertain people.”

Lamine Gamal has great football talent and an amazing ability to dribble players, and he is now seen as one of the most prominent football stars in the world.

Regarding this, the player said, “I am an athlete who entertains the audience. I play football so that people can have fun without my goal being to break records and score a million goals and a million dribbles. I want to have fun and for the children to dream of being like me.”

He added, “I never thought before any match that I had to score 4 goals and give 3 assists. All I thought about was having fun and doing what I was doing in the neighborhood before. Football is deeper than just numbers.”

“Messi is the best in history”

When asked about Argentine star Lionel Messi, the current Inter Miami player – who is considered a Barcelona legend – Lamine said that he was waiting for such a question.

Have you ever gotten this far in an interview without being asked a question about Messi?

Lamin Yamal: “I was surprised, honestly, I was surprised because there were moments when you could have mentioned him, but you didn’t. So I knew the question was coming.”

Have you ever heard the phrase “The game respects its people”

Lamin Yamal: “I think I… pic.twitter.com/2XcfMRUt7B

— Messi World (@M10GOAT) December 1, 2025

Lamine praised Messi by saying, “For me, he is the best player in history. I respect him for what he is in football. If we meet, we will have mutual respect.”

He continued, “He (Messi) knows that I am a good player and that I respect him. He knows that I do not want to be him. Rather, I want to have my own way. I do not want to play with his style or wear the number 10 for him.”