Real Madrid right-wing striker Brahim Diaz converted to Islam during the holy month of Ramadan, at a mosque in Madrid.
The news was announced by the chief imam Adil Hachmi: “Brahim Díaz is officially a Muslim. He performed his prayer tonight in a mosque in Madrid.”
With the full name Brahim Abdelkader Díaz, he is of Spanish descent from his mother and Moroccan from his father.
Díaz played for all of Spain’s youth and senior national teams, but two years ago he changed his nationality and joined the Moroccan national team.
In the Moroccan national team, he has managed to become a big star, scoring 13 goals in 22 matches, and being declared the top scorer at the last Africa Cup of Nations.
However, missing the decisive penalty in the final caused harsh criticism from the Moroccan public.
Following this conversion, Díaz is receiving widespread support from Moroccan and Muslim media and fans around the world.
He becomes the fourth Muslim at Real Madrid, after Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy and Arda Güler.
This season, Díaz has registered 1 goal and 5 assists, starting only 4 matches. In total, he has played 146 matches for Real Madrid, scoring 21 goals and providing 26 assists.
According to Transfermarkt, his current value is 35 million euros.