“Barcelona are causing problems”: Morocco coach talks about Abde’s AFCON involvement

With the Africa Cup of Nations set to kickstart next month, clubs across Europe are set to lose some of their star players midway through the campaign for an extended period.

Barcelona, too, could be without one of their breakout prospects of the season as young winger Abde Ezzalzouli has been called up for the tournament by the Moroccan national team.

The 20-year-old recently obtained Spanish citizenship and is now a dual citizen, which makes him eligible to feature for La Roja as well as Morocco.

Reports have indicated that the winger has sworn his allegiance to the African nation and is ready to represent the team in the AFCON.

However, there have been claims that Barcelona are unwilling to let Abde leave for the tournament as manager Xavi Hernandez sees the young winger as a key part of the team and does not want to lose him for an extended period.

Addressing the situation, Morocco national team manager, Vahid Halihodzic accused Barça of causing problems while insisting that the club cannot stop the forward from participating in the tournament.

In an interview with SportKlub, Halihodzic said: “Ez Abde is an incredibly talented young player who will make a good career. He never turned down the national team, and I think that Barcelona are causing problems because they do not respect the African Cup of Nations enough.”

“Great European clubs and FIFA simply do not respect enough. This is a great competition and that’s why problems like this happen. I’m sure Abde will appear at the gathering on January 3. We are counting on him because we need a penetrating player like him. I believe that Barcelona will show wisdom and react properly,” he added.

Abde has made eight appearances for Barcelona this season, scoring one goal in the process. It remains to be seen if he links up with Morocco next week or ends up snubbing the call-up.