The career of a footballer can quickly rock, from the right and bad side. That of Hachim Mastour, designated as a prodigy from adolescence, quickly took off. Too fast, no doubt.
“At 14, the best clubs in Europe wanted me. I chose AC Milanhe confides in the magazine
France Football. The video of my first game in young people with Milan has become viral on YouTube and there, the buzz really started. »»
Nike quickly spotted him and then became his equipment supplier. The native of Reggio by Emilie, Italy, turned an advertisement with Neymar Jr., who reached 10 million views, and found himself, at 16, in the first team of the Rossoneri alongside stars like Kaka, Robinho and Mario Balotelli. “A great period”recalls the one who had also become, in June 2015, the youngest Moroccan international in history.
Hachim Mastour in 2014 with AC Milan.
“Everyone was talking about me, I was a star. There were a lot of expectations on me in every game. I loved this pressure “he adds. But for him, “The light has arrived too early”:: “I was young, I didn't see the dangers. When you are a teenager, that we have not yet played in the first team, it can be dangerous. On the networks, we do not have the right mentality: we must exhibit there, prove, we live for others. It is not reality. »»
“Some people wanted to kill my career”
“Today, it's part of the lives of young footballers, but at the time, no. I was the first. I had no example on which to base myself, no one could advise me, to lend me. I was a crash test. I paved the way for others ”he continues. Poorly surrounded, Hachim Masour has the feeling of having been considered a “Silly machine”a “Puppet”. Which cost him dearly in his career choices.
In 2016, after a loan to Malaga, the young Atlas lion could have signed for PSG, including President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, for example “Disted a lot” with his father. “But it hopped because some people wanted to kill my career, because I had left themhe still regrets today. This buzz was cool, but I ended up forgetting my own life. I did not grow normally. (…) Even today, I have no friends. »»
After AC Milan, which he left in 2018, the attacking midfielder was lost in Lamia, Reggina, Carpi and Morocco. A trajectory that he hopes to reverse, when he has just joined the Virtus Verona in Serie C. “I hope to find the right club to progress, love football, and meet a coach that can be like a spiritual father. (…) I am 26 years old, I do not set a limit, in the long term, I still dream of playing the Champions League, the World Cup … “
