Morocco’s World Cup breakout star Sofyan Amrabat insists he has ‘great respect’ for Fiorentina, but it is also ‘a real honour’ to be linked with Liverpool, Barcelona and especially Atletico Madrid.
The midfielder has been a revelation in Qatar and this evening will face France in the first ever semi-final for an African team, hoping to make even more history with Argentina waiting in the Final.
His performances for Morocco have seen his profile sky-rocket and inevitably transfer rumours followed, including Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham and Manchester United.
“It is a real honour to be linked with this type of club,” Amrabat told Spanish newspaper Marca.
“At this moment, I am playing for Fiorentina. I have a great deal of respect for my club, it is a great team, I have an excellent coach and my rapport with the owner Rocco Commisso is really good. I have a lot of respect for the directors Joe Barone, Daniele Pradè and the whole club.”
As the interview was with Marca, they inevitably asked him what it would be like to work with Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.
“I have a great coach at Fiorentina, Vincenzo Italiano, so I don’t like talking about others. But obviously, everyone knows what Simeone achieved and I like his style of football. He won a great deal and I have a lot of respect for him.
“The players in his squad are physically strong and aggressive. I like playing that way too. I read that Morocco have been compared to Atletico Madrid and there are some similarities. Gennaro Gattuso has more or less the same approach too, every coach has his style.”
While most of the transfer rumours are swirling around the Premier League clubs, above all Liverpool, Sofyan’s brother Nordin has experience of playing in Spain with Malaga and Leganes.
“I went to Spain many times, there are great fans and atmosphere. La Liga is one of the best leagues in the world, but so is the Premier League and Serie A. Perhaps I’ll play there one day. I am only 26 years old, so nobody knows what the future holds.”
Fiorentina only purchased Amrabat from Verona in January 2020 for just under €20m and his asking price has now practically doubled thanks to these World Cup performances.