Brahim Díaz

Brahim Díaz
Brahim Abdelkader Díaz (born 3 August 1999), known as Brahim Díaz or simply Brahim, is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid.
Club career
Manchester City
Brahim began his 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".
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.
Loan to AC Milan
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. The 23-year-old, dubbed “sensational” by the media, has been reliable, if not spectacular, in the 2022–23 season, contributing four goals and two assists in 23 games.
Return to Real Madrid
On 10 June 2023, Real Madrid announced that Brahim would return from AC Milan after spending three seasons with the Rossoneri. Upon his return, Brahim agreed to extend his contract with the club to June 2027, taking the place of 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.
International career
Spain
Brahim is 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.
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.
Personal life
Brahim, as he was born in Spain to a Spanish mother and a Moroccan father, was eligible to play for Morocco.
Career statistics
Club
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
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
References
External links
Profile at the Real Madrid CF website
1999 births
Living people
Footballers from Málaga
Spanish men's footballers
Spain men's youth international footballers
Spain men's under-21 international footballers
Spain men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Málaga CF players
Manchester City F.C. players
Real Madrid CF players
AC Milan players
Premier League players
La Liga players
Serie A players
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Spanish sportspeople of Moroccan descent
Moroccan people of Spanish descent