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Anwar El Ghazi has 73 Premier League appearances to his name, but his international career has largely underwhelmed after having the choice between two nations. And his struggles are partly thanks to the advice of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has enjoyed as good an international career as any player in history.
Ronaldo’s 123 goals for Portugal make him the most prolific international goalscorer of all time, one of an endless stream of accolades throughout his illustrious career.
The 38-year-old striker has also etched his name into Manchester United folklore as one of the greatest ever players to don the iconic red shirt.
El Ghazi could soon follow in his footsteps amid reports that United are weighing up a shock swoop for the free agent.
Erik ten Hag has allegedly identified El Ghazi as a potential solution to a sudden right-wing crisis, with Antony unavailable and Jadon Sancho’s future in doubt.
But following Ronaldo’s lead hasn’t always worked out for the 28-year-old Dutchman, who has recorded a contrasting international career.
El Ghazi had the option of representing Morocco or the Netherlands at senior level due to his dual citizenship.
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He featured for the latter at U17, U18 and U21 levels before the time came to decide on his international future. That was when he called on Ronaldo’s wisdom.
El Ghazi met Ronaldo around a decade ago to ask for advice on whether he should commit his services to Morocco or the Netherlands.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner advised him to represent his homeland, the Netherlands, to give himself a higher chance of playing in an international tournament.
El Ghazi agreed and was subsequently called up for the Netherlands’ final two Euro 2016 qualifying games against Kazakhstan and Czech Republic in October 2015.
He started both games, providing an assist in a 2-1 win against Kazakhstan before failing to make an impact in a 3-2 defeat to Czech Republic.
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The Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament, and El Ghazi hasn’t represented the country since. He received his next and latest call-up in May 2021 but didn’t feature for Frank de Boer at Euro 2020.
El Ghazi almost certainly would’ve enjoyed a more fruitful international career if he had chosen to play for Morocco.
In October 2022, he confirmed he was considering switching allegiances ahead of the Qatar World Cup and that the Royal Moroccan Football Federation was completing the paperwork.
But nothing has yet to come to fruition, and he missed out on the Moroccans’ memorable run to the semi-finals.
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