Players who answered the call of the heart.. They preferred their roots to the place of their birth

Many soccer players preferred to represent the countries of their parents and grandparents over the countries in which they were born, grew up, and learned football in and became stars in their clubs.

Among the most prominent of these players, there are Arab stars who contributed to the achievements of the national teams of their countries of origin:

• Algerian Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City): He was born in France and played for the “Desert Warriors” team.
• Moroccan Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea): He was born in the Netherlands and played for the “Atlas Lions” team.
• Moroccan Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain): He was born in Spain and played for the Moroccan national team.
• Italian Jorginho (Arsenal): He was born in Brazil and played for the Italian national team.
• Argentine Gonzalo Higuain (retired): He was born in France and played for the Argentina national team.
• Spanish Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool): He was born in Italy and played for the Spain national team.
• Norwegian Erling Haaland (Manchester City): He was born in England and played for Norway.
• Croatian Ivan Rakitic (Seville): He was born in Switzerland and played for the Croatian national team.
• Senegalese Khalido Coulibaly (Chelsea): He was born in France and played for Senegal.
• England’s Raheem Sterling (Chelsea): He was born in Jamaica and played for England.
• Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea): He was born in France and played for the Gabon national team.
• Cameroonian Joel Matip (Liverpool): He was born in Germany and played for the Cameroon national team.