On video: Mustapha Hadji in an interview with Kooora (2/2): Salah is bigger than Hossam Hassan and the history of Egyptian football, and Bono surpassed El Hadary
Amrabat is not above the Morocco national team: he should "play and keep quiet"
Hakimi and Bono the best in Morocco's history by a wide margin over the rest
This is why Morocco stumble in the Africa Cup of Nations and shine at the World Cup
Egypt resemble Germany, but I rank them fifth in Africa
George Weah the best player in Africa's history: the Ballon d'Or tipped the scales in his favour over Salah
Real Madrid may keep Díaz out of Morocco's line-up: I advise him to leave for the Saudi Pro League
I prefer holding the Africa Cup of Nations every two years for this reason
Mustapha Hadji is back. Having laid out his vision for the future of the Atlas Lions and their leading stars, the Moroccan football legend returns in the second part of his extended interview with "Kooora" with bolder opinions and thornier topics that stretch well beyond Moroccan football and into the heart of the footballing debate in Egypt and across Africa.
In one of the interview's standout moments, Hadji fires a direct message at coach Hossam Hassan over his handling of star man Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool forward, he insists, is bigger than the coach and bigger than the history of Egyptian football, a figure who commands special respect within the national team. Hadji also reveals where he stands on Salah closing in on Hossam Hassan's record, and picks George Weah as the greatest African player in history on the back of his historic Ballon d'Or triumph.
The verdicts keep coming. Hadji opens fire on Sofyan Amrabat over his stance towards Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi, and places Achraf Hakimi and Yassine Bono at the summit of Moroccan football history, clear of the rest. He also explains why the Atlas Lions stumble at the Africa Cup of Nations yet dazzle on the world stage.
Africa's international pecking order gets its own treatment too, as does the future of the continental tournament and the format for staging it. Hadji then offers frank advice to Brahim Díaz about his future with Real Madrid, urging him to leave if he wants to protect his chances of playing for Morocco.
Controversial statements, comparisons between stars and legends, decisive takes on the issues gripping fans: in the second part of his interview with "Kooora", Mustapha Hadji delivers a bold reading of African football's past and present, and of the choices that could shape its future.
Read the first part of Mustapha Hadji's interview with Kooora
And to the second part of the interview:
Watch the second part of Mustapha Hadji's interview with Kooora
How did you follow the dispute between Sofyan Amrabat and Mohamed Ouahbi, after the player said he would not represent the Moroccan national team as long as the coach remained?
Amrabat plays for the Moroccan national team. He represents the country and raises its flag, not Mohamed Ouahbi, so he must play under the leadership of any coach.
You represent the country, not the coach, so you should not demand a change of coach, whether it is Ouahbi, Regragui or anyone else.
The strange thing is that Amrabat later confirmed that the matter had nothing to do with a lack of playing time, so the reason for the dispute remains unclear so far.
Representing the Moroccan national team is a great honour. To get the chance to raise the Moroccan flag among 40 million Moroccans is something huge, and it must come above any problem.
All respect to what Amrabat offered with the national team, but that does not give him the right to say that a coach must leave for me to join the team. Who are you to say that? You are not above the national team, the coach, or the Moroccan flag. You have to come to the national team and play while staying quiet, even if you take part for just one minute, because it is an honour for you.
Can it be said that Achraf Hakimi has surpassed all of Morocco's legends and settled the title of the best Moroccan player in history?
Yes, he is the best player in the history of Moroccan football, by a wide margin over any other player. He is far ahead of the rest.
In which position would you rank Haji on the list of the best in Morocco's history?
(laughing) No, I am far from that.
But I see Hakimi as a role model for young Moroccans on the pitch, and I see him at the top of the list, with Yassine Bounou in second place, then the rest come at a big gap behind them.
An Arab player I wished was Moroccan, who is this player?
(laughing) Lamine Yamal, as I consider him an Arab.
Picking a player from an Arab country to represent Morocco is very difficult for me, with all due respect to every Arab player.
Not even Mohamed Salah?
For me, Salah is a very great player. I have all the respect for him, and I have been a fan of this player ever since he started his career with Liverpool.
By the way, what is your opinion on his move to the Turkish league, despite the fact that the opportunity was there to play in other leagues?
Salah is 34 years old, and despite that he maintains his level on the pitch. I see that he is still playing at a high level, and with a big club, and he is also a role model for all players when it comes to his life off the pitch. I wish him to continue for around four more years.
Despite the remarkable results the Moroccan national team delivers in World Cup tournaments throughout history, it always finds difficulty at the Africa Cup of Nations. In your view, what is the secret?
Some 90% of the Morocco national team's players are originally from Europe and are not skilled at playing on African pitches. Egypt are a different story. Roughly 90% of their squad are Egyptians who grew up at home, accustomed to the nature of the conditions on the African continent.
Twice Morocco have reached the Africa Cup of Nations final, in Tunisia in 2004 and on home soil in 2025. But they fail whenever the tournament lands in non-Arab countries with difficult conditions such as Gabon and Cameroon.
Playing in Africa, Morocco's European-based players lack motivation, unlike the situation when it comes to the World Cup. We hope this changes and that these players become accustomed to the African conditions in the future.
The last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations saw accusations that the refereeing favoured Morocco on home soil, the latest of which were Senegal's objections in the final match. What is your response to these accusations?
The Senegal national team are very, very strong, and we had hoped to win the Africa Cup in the stadium, but before the final we played against strong teams as well, such as Nigeria, Mali and Cameroon, so the road to the final was difficult. The Moroccan national team were strong and overcame all their opponents on the pitch after producing a high level of performance, before the problem that occurred in the final.
I hope that African referees can be at a high level like the players. It cannot be that the African national teams and players are at a wonderful level while refereeing on the continent is below standard.
If I asked you to rank the five strongest African national teams at the present time, how would the order be?
Morocco sit top, followed by Senegal, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt and Nigeria.
Why was Egypt placed fifth on the list?
The average age of the Egypt squad's players ranges between 30 and 33, so it is difficult to rank them any higher.
Egypt ruled Africa for years, and their league remains the strongest on the continent, producing the best local players. We always say Egypt is the "Germany of Africa", given the tactical discipline and physical strength their players possess.
What dropped them down my ranking is that rising age average.
The 2026 World Cup saw the participation of 10 African teams for the first time in history. Which team deserved to go further than it did?
Egypt were on the wrong end of a clear injustice against Argentina. They deserved to go far. Ivory Coast and Senegal, meanwhile, produced a superb level of performance.
Morocco, for their part, ran into France, one of the best teams in the world alongside Spain.
Speaking of the Egypt national team, some criticise Hossam Hassan's personality for clashing with stars such as Salah and Mohamed El Shenawy. What is your opinion of his character, having previously faced him on the pitch?
Hossam Hassan coaches the way he played. The character is the same: strong, forceful, a big star of Egyptian football. But he cannot carry himself like the stars in the current national team.
This Egypt squad has genuine giants in it, Mohamed Salah chief among them. With all due respect to Hossam Hassan, Salah is bigger than you and bigger than the history of Egyptian football, and he deserves your respect.
Captain of the national team, Salah is the man you have to sit down with and talk to. Give him the chance to reunite the dressing room. The players respect him, and his voice carries weight within the squad.
My message to Hossam Hassan is simple. You cannot stand against Salah even as the coach. Yes, you have a great history with Egypt, but that history is in the past now. Look at Zinedine Zidane. He never stood against Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema during his time in charge of Real Madrid.
Does Salah's closing in on breaking Hossam Hassan's record as Egypt's all-time top scorer play a role in the crisis unfolding between them?
Their relationship shouldn't be competitive. It should be built on mutual respect. You were a great player in the past, you must now look to the future.
Although Morocco and Algeria both possess abundant talent and a rich history, Morocco have reached an advanced global level in recent years, while Algeria have not followed the same path. In your view, what is the reason?
For around 15 years, Morocco has been building its football through the Mohammed VI Academy. We have produced plenty of talent, and now players arrive from Europe to represent the national team and find the same quality of pitches and facilities as on the old continent. Our players are professionals at the biggest clubs in the world. In general, we are on the right track.
Algeria, it is true, have outstanding talents. But I do not know exactly what the problem is. It may be because the players are not developed inside Algeria.
What are your predictions for the winner of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations?
We hope the tournament is held on schedule. Africa always suffers from such problems. It is not reasonable that there are only a few months left before the tournament and until now it is still uncertain whether it will be held, because I heard it could be postponed to 2028.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania need to get the stadiums ready as fast as possible to stage the tournament next year.
As for the champion, I hope it will be Morocco, but as I said, Morocco always struggles in the Africa Cup because of the African conditions and the humidity, so I hope the team plays friendly matches in the host countries before the tournament to get used to the conditions there.
What is best for the African continent, holding the Africa Cup of Nations every two years or every four years?
Every two years, most definitely. Africans breathe football. Seventy per cent of them have no other form of entertainment besides the ball, so it is not fair to deprive them of it and hold the tournament every four years. This is not a World Cup. Unlike the situation in Europe, where young people there have many forms of entertainment.
As a former winner of the African Player of the Year award, who do you think deserves it this year?
This is a very difficult question, especially after the crisis that struck the Africa Cup of Nations final, so the title is far from settled. Look at the other tournaments, though, and Achraf Hakimi holds the edge. He won the UEFA Champions League and almost every competition he entered.
Beyond the current season, who is the best African player in history?
Another tough one, but I'll go with George Weah.
In your opinion, does he surpass stars like Salah, Eto'o and Drogba?
Yes, because he is the first African player to win the Ballon d'Or as the best player in the world, and I played against him, and I consider him the king of the African continent.
Although Brahim Diaz delivers a good level whenever he appears for Real Madrid, so far he has not convinced Jose Mourinho and faces stiff competition for his position. So would you advise him to leave in January in search of a better chance to play, especially as there are reports of a potential offer from the Saudi federation?
Diaz plays for the biggest club in the world, but honestly I advise him to leave for the Saudi league if there is an offer. I follow the Roshn League closely, and the competition there features professionals at the highest level, with tough competition.
At Real Madrid, Diaz only gets a handful of minutes. That makes it hard to call him up to the Morocco squad, because he does not deserve to play internationally given this situation. That is why I hope he moves to a big club in Saudi Arabia or in any other league, so that he has the chance to play more than an hour in every match.
Who is better, Yassine Bounou or Essam El Hadary?
Bono.
Walid Regragui or Mohamed Ouahbi?
I cannot choose between them. I wish Ouahbi all the best in the future, and I say thank you to Regragui for what he has done with the Moroccan national team, and for allowing us to dream.
How would you describe these people in one word?
Achraf Hakimi
An icon of Moroccan football
Hervé Renard
My great friend
Hossam Hassan
A very strong striker
Mohamed Salah
The genius
Mohamed Aboutrika
The Zidane of Africa
Patrice Motsepe
Very difficult to describe
Gianni Infantino
He practises racism against Africa, and I demand "Fair Play" from him.
