Brahim Diaz has shown his class at AFCON - now Morocco's star forward deserves a bigger role at Real Madrid

After Brahim helped Morocco beat Cameroon in the quarter-finals with his fifth goal in five AFCON outings, coach Walid Regragui claimed, "Brahim can be the best player in the world if he wants to be."

If that sounds hyperbolic to the rest of us, it wouldn't to those that worked with the 26-year-old as a youngster. Brahim was a true footballing prodigy, and Pep Guardiola was so keen to sign 'The Messi of Malaga' during his time in charge of Barcelona that he gave Brahim a guided tour of Camp Nou alongside the actual Lionel Messi.

Of course, a 16-year-old Brahim ended up joining Manchester City, but Guardiola still got to give him his professional debut in a League Cup tie against Swansea City in September 2016. The Catalan was, thus, devastated when City were forced to sell Brahim to Madrid in January 2019 because the attacking midfielder was refusing to extend a contract that had less than six months to run.

"Of course, going to Real Madrid is not a bad step," Guardiola said at the time, before pointedly adding, "Hopefully, he can get the minutes he didn't get in the last period for many reasons..."

Guardiola's thinly-concealed scepticism proved very well-founded, as Brahim saw a lot less first-team action than he expected during his first two seasons at the Bernabeu. Returning to Real after showing steady but significant growth during a three-year loan spell at AC Milan also looked like an ill-advised move even at the time - and so it proved.

Brahim underlined his improvement with 12 goals in all competitions during a decent first season under Carlo Ancelotti, but he was never anything more than a very useful reserve, and his role only further reduced following Alonso's appointment last summer. Brahim started just three times in La Liga before heading away on international duty, and only once in the Champions League.

However, if moving to Madrid was a mistake, swapping Spain for Morocco was a masterstroke.

When Brahim debuted for Spain in June 2021, he scored what looked like the first of many goals for the land of his birth. However, he would never play for La Roja again. Luis de la Fuente, who had also coached Brahim at youth level, never ruled out recalling the forward. But, in the end, Brahim got tired of waiting and, in March 2024, he decided to declare for Morocco, who had made a concerted plea for him to play for them.

Indeed, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) - and even some local politicians - had been trying to convince Brahim to represent his father's home nation since he was a teenager, while Regragui visited him in person five times during the 2023-24 season alone. The switch, therefore, came as little surprise.

"I feel 100% Spanish and 100% Moroccan," Brahim explained in an interview with Cadena SER. "I grew up in Spain but I have Moroccan roots. The affection that Spain and Morocco have shown me is immense; they are two wonderful countries.

"I always decide with my heart, and that's how it was this time too. I'm a simple guy with dreams. I had to choose between two countries I love. Morocco gave me this opportunity, and I'm very grateful. I wasn't thinking about whether or not Luis De La Fuente would call me when I made this decision. The affection and the project they've shown me in Morocco seem very good to me.

"Right now, I don't know what else to tell you, but I can say that I'm 100% convinced of my decision, so there's no point in thinking about what would have happened if... Nothing was going to change. I'm at peace, I've chosen, and there's no need to dwell on it. You make a decision, and you don't look back."

And he's been true to his word.

"We welcomed Brahim like a brother," the Paris Saint-Germain right-back said, and it's telling that Brahim has repeatedly referred to The Atlas Lions as one big "family" over the past couple of years.

"I feel at home," he said after Morocco's AFCON opener against Comoros. "I feel really good and know that the people love me. I want to give it my best when representing Morocco because I would not be here without them."

And, at the same time, Morocco wouldn't be where they are today without Brahim.

"Frankly, I didn't expect him to be at this level," former Morocco midfielder Mustapha El Haddaoui admitted after Brahim's winner against Tanzania in the last 16. "At Real Madrid, his playing time has been very limited and that lack of rhythm can be a handicap. But not for him. He doesn't seem to be struggling physically, even if the coach preserves him by taking him off before the end of the match. In every game, he brings something."

That's no exaggeration either. Brahim has scored Morocco's opener or only goal in four of his six AFCON appearances so far. It's also no coincidence that when he failed to score for the first time, Morocco did, too, in the scoreless semi-final with Nigeria that the hosts won on penalties thanks to Yassine Bounou's shot-stopping skills.

As a result, there is some concern going into Sunday's showdown with Senegal that Morocco have become overly reliant on their adopted son. Regragui doesn't care, though: "If we are too dependent on Brahim and he brings home the AFCON, then I will be the happiest man in Morocco." Brahim wouldn't be far behind him, though.

'X factor'

AFCON has already been a personal triumph for a player who has spent so much of his career searching for the fastest track to stardom, only to finally find it in the most unexpected of places.

While newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year Hakimi remains the undisputed leader of The Atlas Lions and the man that all Moroccans want to see lift the AFCON trophy in Rabat, Brahim has quite literally become the tournament's poster boy. As Regragui says, his new No.10 has "the X factor" - which is why he's got family, friends and even got members of the Moroccan royal family singing and dancing in the stands.

But it's not just been about the moments of magic. What's pleased Regragui most about Brahim is the "change in mentality".

"What he did against Cameroon was run, fight, and keep possession," the coach explained. "By doing that, he sent a message to his team-mates and it's very important for the team's morale when you see your best player working so hard."

"Now," Regragui added, "he understands what it means to have Moroccan blood."

Whether Brahim now goes on to become the best player in the world with Madrid very much remains to be seen. But what's beyond doubt is that Morocco have already made him a better one.