Rubiales: "We Made 4 or 5 Trips to Contact Yamal's Family, I Was Always Close to Him to Convince Him to Represent Spain"

Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, revealed important details surrounding the process of convincing young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal to choose to represent "La Roja" instead of Morocco.

Appearing as a guest on the program "El Chiringuito," Rubiales stated: "When Lamine was 12 years old, officials from the Spanish Federation, specifically from the youth national teams category, came to speak with me. They told me: 'Rubi, there is a very special player.' I asked: 'How old is he?' They replied: '12 years old.' I then said: 'Are you that confident in him despite his young age?' They responded: 'Yes, we are absolutely confident.'"

He continued: "But there was an issue: his mother is from one country, and his father is from another, though he was born here. A situation we all know. They asked me to prepare a specific action plan for Lamine, and I agreed. I was always ready to communicate with his family and stay close to the player, so he would feel the desire to represent the national team."

He concluded: "It's true that Lamine showed his full willingness from the beginning, but we made no fewer than 4 or 5 trips to stay in touch. I believe this 'silent' or 'invisible' work, which people don't notice, is what makes the difference. Sometimes its results don't show, but in this case, we worked very hard at the Federation."