This player wants to go to the Africa Cup but Real Madrid don't want him to leave

Between January 13 and February 11, the Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Ivory Coast. It is the most important national team tournament on the continent, so all players want to be there. But there is a problem: it is played in the middle of the 2023/24 season, so most European clubs will lose players who are called up by their respective national teams.

This is a problem that will affect top teams: Liverpool will be without their top star, Mohamed Salah, for several Premier League games; Manchester United will lose their $50 million goalkeeper André Onana and Sofyan Amrabat; Al-Nassr will have the same problem with Sadio Mané.

And unexpectedly Real Madrid could join that list. This is because Brahim Diaz has apparently decided to play for the Morocco national team. Despite being born in Malaga, Spain, the 24-year-old forward is of Moroccan descent and has chosen the African team over the European one.

Diaz intends to play the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, but the Spanish side have no desire to let him go in the middle of the season. This was assured by Mohamed Makrouf, official spokesman of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation: "Brahim Diaz wants to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations 2024 but faces obstacles from his club, Real Madrid".

What will happen with him?

While reports indicate that Los Merengues do not want to let him go, if Brahim Diaz stands firm in his decision, they will have no choice. The Africa Cup of Nations is an official FIFA tournament and therefore the rules oblige clubs to release players who are called up to participate there. In the event of leaving for Morocco, Diaz would miss at least 5 La Liga matches and 4 Copa del Rey games.