Morocco’s national team coach, Walid Regragui, publicly thanked Paris Saint-Germain for their exemplary treatment of Achraf Hakimi (27). By allowing the full-back to join the national team so far in advance (despite his injury), the Parisian club sent a strong signal of trust and cooperation.
Regragui: “It’s also thanks to PSG”
“PSG and Nasser al-Khelaïfi were very classy. Because they made Achraf available to us. They even let him come almost 15 days beforehand. There isn’t a club in the world that would have said: ‘We’ll make him available to you, we trust you.’ (…) Thank you to them, in any case. If Achraf is back today, it’s also thanks to PSG, who played their part for us.”
Behind these emphatic words, Walid Regragui isn’t talking about a simple logistical arrangement, but rather a mindset. Making Achraf Hakimi available to the national team nearly two weeks before the match is an acceptance of an immediate sporting risk in the name of a broader project. Few clubs would have made this choice, and the Moroccan national team coach says so quite frankly.
Paris Saint-Germain has shown complete trust, both in the player and in the national team.
This is far from a trivial gesture in modern football, obsessed with managing players’ bodies and schedules. Implicitly, this public recognition also underscores Hakimi’s status in Paris: a respected figure, a player whose physical and mental well-being is as important as raw performance. When a national team coach thanks a club in this way, it’s never without purpose. It’s proof of a healthy—and rare—partnership.
