Achraf gave an interview to L'Equipe in which he reviewed his past at Madrid, his career, his best moments and how he has lived these first months at PSG.
When you hear that you are the best right back in the world, what do you think? Does it feel good, does it exert pressure?
It makes me feel happy and proud, it makes me want to keep working to improve myself, be on top and keep people saying good things about me.
And are they right that you are the best right-back in the world?
(Laughs) No, I don't know … Let's just say I work hard to be the best that I can be.
Taking into account your CV and your career, we quickly think that you are 25 or 26 years old …
No, I am 22 years old. I'm still young ! (Laughs)
Do you also feel that you are older than that?
(Doubt) In certain aspects, yes: I have played in quite a few great clubs, the best in various countries, that gives me a certain maturity and the status of an experienced player. But in others, I am still a child. A child who lives his dreams and who wants to enjoy them. And I still have a lot to learn.
What was the highlight of your young career? It is the day of 2017 in which Zidane announces his call to the first team …
Yes, that is part. I was with some friends, sitting on a bench in front of the house chatting and there the phone rings and it's … Zidane! He tells me I'm going to play, when I wasn't expecting it. Since then, there have been many more: the day I lifted the Champions League, of course, the Serie A title (in May), my first game with the national team, then the 2018 World Cup when I was very young and Morocco did not play. a World Cup for twenty years … And now signing here with all these great players … What dreams come true! When I was playing as a child, in the neighborhood, I would never have imagined it. Especially since, as you say, this is just the beginning, I still have a lot to give.
And your relationship with Zinédine Zidane? He made you debut, but in 2020, when he was a coach, we thought you were going to stay at Real and they sold you to Inter …
I have immense respect for him and a lot of affection. He trusted me, it allowed me to play in an incredible team with which I won the Champions League. I learned a lot from him. What happened in 2020 has nothing to do with him. These are other aspects, linked in particular to Covid and Real Madrid, that made me leave. At that time I had a conversation with him that will remain between us. He thought differently.
You are a good friend of his son Luca …
From my first day at Real, he was there, we climbed categories together, a great friendship was born. It's like a brother, we go on vacation together.
Why don't you speak French?
I was born in Spain and at home we spoke Arabic. French is a language that I love, I hear it in the national team. I understand it quite well but I speak it very badly (Serie). I teach to learn it.
Why did you choose to sign for PSG instead of Chelsea, the European champion last season?
When I received these two offers, I had the intuition that I had to come to Paris, that I was going to be happy there. PSG is a great club and I appreciated how much the people here seemed to love me and desire me. And I was lucky that my arrival was accompanied by large transfers. I am already sure that I was not wrong, I feel good, we have a dream team and I am happy to be part of it.
What did Mauricio Pochettino tell you before signing for PSG?
That he liked the way I play and that he was going to learn a lot from him. We got along well during this conversation. He is a coach that I like: he likes to dominate the games thanks to the possession of the ball and to play very attacking. A few years ago he already wanted me at Tottenham. He has a way of managing and playing with his teams that can help me progress. I needed a coach who would give me confidence and freedom to attack.
You used to say that you are “a winger with the soul of an attacker.”
I am both an offensive and a defensive winger. Yes, I really like attacking but I also know that I have to be very present defensively. This is an area that I am constantly improving and about which I feel better and better.
What did you learn from Conte?
At Inter, Conte told me that he wanted to become a more complete player. He was right. Throughout the year we work a lot together: we watched videos, we did individualized trainings. In tactics, it made me progress a lot. He taught me simple things to improve my positioning, my aggressiveness. Today, for me, defending is a pleasure: when I succeed in a good defensive action, it gives me as much satisfaction as giving an assist. In the same way that goalkeepers are now asked to play with their feet, I think I am a modern winger.
His idol is Marcelo …
Before sharing a dressing room with him, I was very interested in his way of playing, his vision of football and life. Soccer is a game for him, as for me, he started playing in his neighborhood and throughout his career he maintained the same pleasure, which allowed him to become the best left-back in the world and win so many titles. Seeing football as fun is the key to not being under pressure. And then he is a spectacular winger who, with all his qualities, could have played number 10. By rubbing shoulders with him, I got to know his personality, his way of controlling the ball, of centering …
Where does your supersonic speed come from?
(Smile) I do not know. At school, when we did sprints or cross country, I always finished first or second. I quickly realized that it was fast and tough. In the afternoons I started practicing athletics. It was just a hobby but I improved my speed a bit more. It is useful to me today in football. In all the clubs I've been to, he was the fastest on the team.
Are you faster than Mbappé?
(Serie) We'll have to see, we haven't tried running against each other yet. It is also very fast. In any case, it is a plus for the team: taking advantage of our speed can help us win games.
Your complicity with him is already evident …
It happened naturally, from day one. We are young (both were born in 1998), we have many things in common, we enjoy the same things. This friendship makes us better and helps us to be complementary on the field.
On the right side, he also matches Messi. How did you react to your signing in Paris?
For Messi to leave Barça, like everyone else, I didn't expect it. And when I heard you were coming here, what can I say? A dream for me! I played with many great players and the only one I missed was Messi! I am proud to evolve with such a good footballer. To progress, I will pay attention to how he trains, how he plays. It will grow the team and each of the players that make it up. We speak the same language, in addition, little by little we are getting to know each other. And building a technical relationship with him is easy! I give him the ball, I run and he will put it where it belongs! (Serie) I was surprised by his way of behaving, he is simple, quiet.
“I was surprised by the way Messi behaved …”
Achraf
You said you would never have dreamed of a career like this. What was your childhood like?
I had a happy childhood, I never lacked affection but there were difficult moments. My parents fought to provide the best for us, my brother, my sister and me. They left Morocco to live in Spain, they had to learn a new language. They didn't do a lot of studies and they worked a lot (her mother was a cleaning lady and her father a seller in the markets) to buy us clothes, school supplies, take us to trainings that were far away … They made so many sacrifices … All of this made me more independent, stronger, pushed me to work hard for myself but also for them. I am proud that I can help you live more comfortably.
Has soccer always been your passion?
I always wanted to be a footballer. I spent my life playing under my house in Getafe, where I was born and raised, the painted walls served as cages, we always had a ball at our feet. I was crazy about football, the players, I still am. He went to the Getafe training center to ask the players for photos or their shoes. One year, there was a Moroccan named Abdelaziz Barrada. I have a photo with him that came out on the web not long ago. He is in the car and I am next door, a boy, delighted. This photo marked me because I adored him, he played for the national team, he was spectacular. I saw him on TV and I find myself posing with him! These moments were recorded, I remember how happy they made me. When I see children here or in Morocco who love me and want a photo with me, I identify with myself.
You define yourself as a neighborhood player even though you joined La Real at the age of 7 …
Yes, even when I was a child in Madrid I continued to play with my friends in the neighborhood field. The neighborhood gives you the intelligence to play, a little spark, something that pushes you to be as fast as possible. You have to think fast, be the smartest, the fastest, because in neighborhood football, everyone wants the ball! And everyone dreams of being a footballer, so you have to make a difference. Thank God, I received a gift and then I knew how to take advantage of my opportunity. I am a privileged and happy child who is living the dream of every child. That is why I like to smile: I smile at life because life smiles at me. When I play, I try to be like when I was having fun in the neighborhood. Playing football, wherever you are, above all fun.
How would you describe your relationship with Real Madrid? You trained there but you never really prevailed …
Real Madrid is the club of my childhood, the one thanks to which I am here today, at PSG, doing an interview! He took me out of the neighborhood, I learned the values of soccer, he built me as a man too. I was there for more than twelve years, I am very grateful to this club. At the moment, I have not had a chance to succeed there, you never know what the future will be like. Today the only thing that matters is Paris, obviously I am very motivated to achieve great things with this shirt.
Why did you choose the Moroccan team over Spain?
My culture is Moroccan: at home we talked, we ate Moroccan, I am a practicing Muslim. I watched the matches in Morocco with my father, who told me a lot about the great players in this country. The first call-up with Morocco came when I was 14 years old, I didn't have much to think about. Later there were contacts with Spain but I always liked playing with the Moroccan team. I was very well received there, I feel good there.
There is a large Moroccan community in France. Did this summer count?
Yes, one of the reasons I came to Paris is the Muslim Arab community here. I knew culturally that I was going to feel at home. And given all the messages I received, I felt like they wanted me here!
What is PSG's secret to winning it all this season?
As a former Madrid player, you know that gathering stars in a galactic project does not guarantee success … You have to be a team on and off the pitch. Help each other, run for each other. This is how we ended up lifting trophies. People sometimes think when they see a squad with big names that it is enough but no, it takes the involvement of each player, a team where we all attack together and where we all defend together.
But with all these offensive stars, you'll have to defend more than ever …
What will make us win is the collective commitment. Yes, sometimes we will have to run a little more but it is for the good of the team. We have a great group to have a great season. All Parisian players want to make history with this team that is under construction. This is just the beginning, we will get there, I'm sure.