Brahim Díaz

Brahim Abdelkader Díaz (ابراهيم عبد القادر دياز; born 3 August 1999), better known as Brahim Díaz or just Brahim, is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Real Madrid. Born in Spain and a former one-time international for the Spain national team, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Early life
Brahim was born in Spain to a Spanish mother and Moroccan father. His father, Sufiel Abdelkader Mohand, was born in Melilla, an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Brahim grew up in Málaga, but moved to Manchester aged 16, due to being signed by Manchester City's youth academy.

Manchester City
Brahim began his club career at his hometown club Málaga, before moving to Manchester City in 2015 as a 16-year-old for an initial £200,000 fee. On 21 September 2016, Díaz made his first-team debut for City, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute to replace Kelechi Iheanacho in an EFL Cup tie against Swansea City. Five days later, he signed his first professional contract with City, for three years.

On 21 November 2017, Brahim made his Champions League debut against Feyenoord in a group stage match, coming on in injury time for Raheem Sterling. On 19 December 2017, Brahim made his first club start, playing for 88 minutes against Leicester City in the League Cup. He made his Premier League debut on 20 January 2018, in a 3–1 victory over Newcastle United. and on 13 May, he received a winner's medal after appearing sporadically in four more league games over the season.

On 5 August 2018, Brahim played the final 15 minutes in place of Phil Foden a 2–0 win over Chelsea in the 2018 FA Community Shield. Later that season, Brahim would score his first career goal for City, netting both times in a 2–0 win over Fulham on 1 November.

Real Madrid
Following intense transfer speculation, coupled with his contract with Manchester City due to expire in June 2019, Brahim joined Real Madrid on 6 January, for a transfer fee of £15.5 million (€17 million). His contract, which runs until 2025, also includes potential add-ons, which could see the value of the transfer to rise to £22 million (€24 million). The transfer also includes clauses which stipulates a 15 per cent sell-on fee to be received by City, which would rise to 40 per cent should Brahim depart Madrid and transfer to "another Manchester club".

2018–20: First season in Spain and La Liga title
He made his debut on 9 January 2019, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 victory over Leganés in the Copa del Rey. His league debut came four days later, when he again came in as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Real Betis. He scored his first goal on 12 May 2019, in a 1–3 defeat at Real Sociedad.

He made six appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.

2020–23: Loan to AC Milan and Serie A champion
On 4 September 2020, Real Madrid announced that Brahim would be loaned out to AC Milan for the duration of the 2020–21 season. On 27 September, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 away win over Crotone. On 9 May 2021, he scored a goal in a 3–0 away win over Juventus. After the 2020–21 season, he was loaned for another two years to AC Milan with a buyout option. On 15 September 2021, he scored his first Champions League goal against Liverpool in a 3–2 defeat in the 2021–22 Champions League group stage.

On 8 October 2022, Brahim scored his second goal against Juventus in a league game, finishing after a run to double the advantage as he seized a loose pass and knocked it around the Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci to get through on goal, and then finished past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny.

On 14 February 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League round of 16.

2023–present: Return to Real Madrid
On 10 June 2023, Real Madrid announced Brahim's return from a three-season loan at AC Milan, and upon his return, he signed a contract extension with the club until June 2027, succeeding the departing Marco Asensio. On 27 September, he scored his first goal since his return, contributing to a 2–0 triumph over Las Palmas during a La Liga game at the Santiago Bernabéu. He was subsequently awarded the Man of the Match title. On 8 November, he scored his first Champions League goal for Real Madrid, by netting the opener in a 3–0 victory over Braga, which secured his club's qualification to the knockout phase.

On 6 January 2024, Brahim scored his first Copa del Rey goal in a match against Arandina, contributing to a 3–1 victory for Real Madrid. In the Supercopa de España semi-final on 10 January at KSU Stadium in Riyadh, Brahim clinched a dramatic victory for Real Madrid over Atlético Madrid with a last-minute goal, making the score 5–3 in a match that extended into extra time. His decisive goal came as Atlético's goalkeeper Jan Oblak advanced for a corner, staying in Real Madrid's half after a throw-in, allowing Brahim to score from just inside the halfway line and secure Real Madrid's place in the final.

A month later, on 13 February, in the Champions League round of 16 first leg match, Brahim scored the only goal for Real Madrid against RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena, securing a 1–0 victory with a 49th-minute left-footed curler past Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi after skillfully evading multiple defenders, earning him the Man of the Match award in a compound accomplishment.

On 11 May 2024, Brahim scored a brace in a 4–0 victory over Granada.

Spain
Brahim was a youth international for Spain, and made his first appearances at age 16, where he received praise for his performances for Spain's U17s in the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive COVID-19 test of Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against Lithuania on 8 June 2021. Brahim made his senior debut in the match and scored the second goal in a 4–0 victory against Lithuania.

Morocco
On 27 January 2023, it was announced that Brahim planned to switch allegiances to the Morocco national team. In October 2023, Marca reported that Brahim had decided to represent Morocco, with some administrative details related to change in nationality being resolved. However, he was not called up by coach Walid Regragui for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, due to a pre-established agreement.

On 10 March 2024, Marca reported that Brahim had officially informed the Royal Moroccan Football Federation that he would be switching his allegiance to their national team. On 13 March, Brahim was called up by the Morocco coach Walid Regragui for the matches against Angola and Mauritania. He made his debut on 22 March in a 1–0 win over Angola.

International

 * Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brahim goal

Honours
Manchester City
 * Premier League: 2017–18
 * EFL Cup: 2017–18
 * FA Community Shield: 2018

Real Madrid
 * La Liga: 2019–20, 2023–24
 * Supercopa de España: 2020, 2024
 * UEFA Champions League: 2023–24

AC Milan
 * Serie A: 2021–22

Spain U17
 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2016

Individual
 * Serie A Goal of the Month: October 2022