French Football Weekly: this summer, to everyone’s surprise, you decided to join Union Touarga Sport, in the Moroccan first division. Why this choice ?
Hachim Mastour : I chose UTS because the president simply convinced me. I was looking for a place where I could grow and improve and the president convinced me because he showed me exactly the path I was looking for. I want to work, improve and learn as much as possible while playing especially.
FM: Last season, you also made a name for yourself since you joined the Moroccan second division (editor’s note: he signed for RCA Zemamra). A surprising choice…
HM: I chose to play in Morocco because Morocco is my country. I wanted to start from scratch and recreate myself. I wanted to play in my mother’s native region too. It was important. I met the president at the time and made him a promise to win the championship and get promoted and, as captain, I succeeded (editor’s note: Zemamra finished champion and is therefore mounted in D1). Besides, I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank the president and my former teammates, we worked hard to achieve our goal.
FM: Let’s go back to the beginning of your career. You are 14 years old and you find yourself overexposed in the media at AC Milan. How hard was it to live at that young age?
HM: Basically, I’m a guy who likes pressure. But it wasn’t easy. Afterwards, if we tolerate it well, we improve more and more. Clearly, since I was little, people have expected a lot from me and have expected a lot from me. But I am the first to surpass myself to meet expectations.
FM: but you suffered a lot from this early fame…
HM: yes, I suffered a lot. I went through a period of depression. It wasn’t easy, I fought so hard and luckily my family was close to me. Saying thank you from the bottom of my heart is not even enough. The world of football is not easy and you meet people who don’t see you as a boy trying to make his dream come true, but as a money machine. That’s how I was perceived.
FM: a few years ago, you also mentioned a very harmful environment for you…
HM: yes, I separated myself from certain people because I knew the truth about them. It was time and legitimate for our paths to separate. They promised to ruin me and never let me play football again. I suffered a lot from that. They also tarnished my name and image and I have always fought against people’s prejudices about my image. Unfortunately, money makes you do bad things. It’s not good. But I’m honestly grateful for everything that happened to me. This is what made me the person I am today. All this made me grow and strengthened me more and more. Each path is different. If I can give one piece of advice to exposed young players, it is that if you have a dream, you should never give up even if you are discouraged.
“Neymar told me he was waiting for me in Barcelona at the time”
FM: Do you regret having been overexposed at such a young age?
HM: No. God has a plan for each of us. Everything happens at the right time honestly. And people can hinder your success but if you commit, believe and don’t give up, if it is written that it will happen, you will make it, that’s all. Religion helped me a lot to overcome my depression and difficult times.
FM: Did you have the feeling of being abandoned at that time?
HM: yes, but the world is made like that. When everything is going well, everyone is with you, behind you. But it’s when things go wrong that you really understand who really loves you. Or not.
FM: At the age of 15, your videos on YouTube were already attracting millions of views. Has this visibility not also made the public, clubs or coaches more demanding?
HM: yes, it’s definitely sure! I try not to rely on others, but to do my job as best as possible, trying to have fun and to amuse the people who see me and my football. I stopped calculating what people said about me a long time ago.
FM: there is this famous video with Neymar for Red Bull which broke the internet. Have you stayed in touch?
HM: yes, it was really amazing to meet him. Neymar is my idol. We stayed in touch and he even sent me his jersey which I hung in my room. He was waiting for me in Barcelona at the time, I really wanted to play with him. We’ll see in the future.
“Gattuso? One of the best coaches I’ve had.”
FM: Today, are you happy as a footballer? You have always been typecast as a player more elegant than efficient and you have never really been able to play for your clubs.
HM: It is often said that to better appreciate the beautiful, you must also appreciate the ugly. Football has changed a lot over the years. I feel it. Today, he is much more tactical and he has killed fantasy, instinct. Today, there are no longer the number 10s of the past… I still want to believe that in football, there is always room for talent and imagination.
FM: You seem to have a pessimistic view of football today. Does the 25-year-old Hachim Mastour still dream of playing in the Champions League or of playing in the 5 major championships?
HM: no no, I’m not at all pessimistic about the football of our time, I’m just realistic. I’ve lived football every day of my life since I was very young, that’s why I can say these things and allow myself to say them. And when it comes to my dream, I’m ambitious. Of course I would like to play in the Champions League or on the European stage one day. For sure.
FM: do you think you are capable of changing your image of football being a waste to European clubs?
HM: I do everything myself for that! And every day. I have no regrets like that. As I said before, God has a plan for each of us, I’m sure. I learned a lot from my experiences whether in Milan, Malaga, PEC Zwole, Reggina etc. I learned a lot both as a player and as a man. And like I say, the journey is still long.
FM: What do you remember from these experiences?
HM: honestly, I was very young and I had the chance to be with champions, I trained with them, I was off the field with them and so I grew a lot through that. I still feel like I’m with some of them sometimes and I’m honored to be appreciated by great players, especially for the person I am. I also had many coaches during my career and I learned something from each of them, I always tried to see the positive side.
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“I may have paid for my choice to play for Morocco rather than Italy”
FM: you also crossed paths with Gennaro Gattuso who has just joined OM
HM: I knew Gattuso and I worked with him, yes. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had. I had a very good relationship with him on and off the field. He deserves a lot as a coach because he is really good and he brings good football to his teams. I would like to take this opportunity to greet him warmly and wish him good luck for his new experience at OM.
FM: he was notably your coach when, at just 16 years old, you made your first selection with Morocco (editor’s note: youngest player in the history of the selection)
HM: it was wonderful. I love the way Moroccans enjoy football. When the whole stadium shouted my name, I felt very excited and couldn’t wait to get on the field! I’m sure there will be more moments like these.
FM: You were coveted by Italy at that time too. Do you think your choice to represent Morocco rather than Italy had an impact on your career?
HM: I don’t know. I don’t know how things would have turned out if I had chosen Italy. But I made a sincere choice.
FM: In recent years, some dual nationals have had pressure from their clubs to represent one country rather than another…
HM: I played in the Italian youth team and I was their number 10. When the call-up for the Moroccan national team came, Italy and Milan didn’t want me to leave, I had to convince them and they ended up understanding my choice. Maybe I paid for this choice. People promised to stay close to me and help me in this situation, but this was not done. This is what disappointed me the most. Every choice I made, I made with my heart and good intentions.
FM: From now on, what can we wish you for the rest of your career?
HM: I try to live day by day and match by match. I work every day, then I know it will be time to show things. I focus on the present now. You never know what will happen in the future. And then, I want to live the moments with surprise, without knowing what awaits me.
