The federation has denied media reports that it is persuading Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, 16, to switch his international allegiance from Spain to Morocco.

Spanish newspaper AS reported on Tuesday that Morocco is trying to convince Yamal to switch allegiance.

The publication further alleged that the player had previously rejected a financial offer to play for the Atlas Lion.

“The Royal Moroccan Football Federation confirms that what is stated in the article is false and not based on any evidence, especially since it respected the choices of the player Lamine Yamal, like other Moroccan players of Moroccan origins who chose other teams.”

Yamal, who was born in Catalonia, Spain, to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, already made his debut for Spain.

However, he is still eligible to switch his international allegiance.

According to FIFA rules, players can switch international allegiance as long as they have made fewer than three appearances for a country before the age of 21 and have not played for that nation for at least three years.

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Yamal became the youngest player to represent, score, and start for Spain during the September international break. He came off the bench to score against Georgia.

He also became Barcelona’s youngest player to start in La Liga in August, having made his first team debut in April while still 15 years old.