Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz has switched his international allegiance after giving up on Spain.
With just three months to go until Euro 2024 kicks off in Germany, national team managers will already have a decent idea of who will be included in their squads.
While there's still time for players to force their way into contention, that isn't going to happen with Spanish attacker Brahim Diaz.
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The Real Madrid man made his senior Spain debut in 2021, when he started and scored in a 4-0 friendly win against Lithuania.
The 24-year-old has not made an appearance since then, and was last included in a Spain squad for World Cup qualifiers in November 2021.
Brahim was born in Malaga to Spanish parents and has represented Spain at youth level, but he grew tired of waiting to be called up by Spain boss Luis de la Fuente.
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Now, according to Marca's Juan Castro, Brahim has decided to represent Morocco instead.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that the Moroccan Football Federation is preparing a 'big celebration' to announce the news.
The attacker qualifies to represent the Atlas Lions through his paternal grandfather, Brahim Diaz Abdelkader, who was born in Morocco.
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The president of the Moroccan Football Federation and Moroccan minister delegate for the budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, reportedly put considerable effort into convincing Diaz to switch allegiance.
Brahim did not feel the same level of commitment and interest from Spain and De la Fuente, something that helped sway his decision.
Brahim will now represent the highest ranked African team in the world alongside Paris Saint-Germain superstar Achraf Hakimi, who was also born in Spain.
He could make his debut later this month when Morocco take on Angola in a friendly on March 22.
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Diaz impressed on loan at AC Milan last season, and has carried his impressive form into the current campaign despite rarely starting for Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid side.
He certainly has star quality though, as his recent solo goal against RB Leipzig showed.
Topics: Real Madrid, Brahim Diaz, Spain, Morocco, Euro 2024
Alex Brotherton