Hachim Mastour offers honest reflection on time at Milan and gives advice to Camarda | OneFootball

Hachim Mastour has lifted the lid on his time at AC Milan and explained why the hype that surrounded him only contributed to pressure which he struggled to deal with.

There was a time when Mastour was the most talked about player in the AC Milan academy, and yet his story is sadly one of a player that never really reached the levels that he suggested he would when he was a teenager.

He began his career at Reggiana where he was born and caught the eye of Milan, signing for the Rossoneri for €500,000 at the age of 14. He was sent on a two-year loan to Málaga but it was terminated earlier, then a loan to PEC Zwolle followed.

It was when he left permanently for Greek side Lamia that the Milan dream was over. He would return to Italy to play for Reggina and Carpi in Serie C, then heading to Morocco, and at 26 years of age he is currently without a club having left his last team in Morocco when his deal expired.

Mastour spoke to MilanNews about his story as a Milan player including why it didn’t go to plan and the lessons that he was able to take from it.

Hachim, you have been away from Italy in the last two years…

“I was in Morocco, first playing in Serie B in the team of my mother’s hometown [Renaissance Zemamra]. I was the team captain, we won the league. Then I played in the top league, for the King’s team [Union Touarga].

“I had a great time, I take many things with me in my personal baggage. I learned a lot at a group level and learned new game dynamics. On an environmental level then I discovered my parents’ country of origin, learned the Arabic language well.

“In Malaga I had learned Spanish and in other foreign experiences [PEC Zwolle and PAS Lamia] English. For me it was a further enrichment.”

Where are you at now?

“I have had requests from the United Arab Emirates. Personally, I would like to return to the Italian league, which is the most important for me. I dream of fulfilling myself in this country where I was born, raised and which I am in love with.”

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Is there a feeling of revenge towards Italy?

“I wouldn’t say so, if anything my desire is dictated by the fact that in Italy there is a culture of football of the highest level, for this reason I would like to return to play there.

“We won the C in Reggio Calabria and I had the chance to play in Serie B. Then Sandro Pochesci called me to Carpi, he wanted me as an attacking midfielder in his system.

“He made me feel important and I thank him wholeheartedly. I judge these two experiences in a positive way.”

Since leaving Carpi it has been difficult to find information about you…

“I have been on a journey with myself, a personal journey to find the inner peace that in these years had been lost for various reasons. This journey has been very useful to me, I am a different type of person on an inner level. Stopping for a few months has helped me to gain awareness and maturity.”

In a recent interview you talked about depression, from which you thankfully emerged…

“It was a period that brought me closer to faith. I lived an important spiritual journey that helped me get out of it. Today I feel good, if before I was only Hachim the footballer now I am Hachim the person and there is a Hachim Mastour the footballer. I have learned to separate the two things, an essential theme.”

In the world of football, many players have fallen into the vortex of depression. For you, the constant pressure since you were a teenager must have been difficult to bear?

“Those who are part of this profession have to live with this pressure. Of course, many bad things have been said about me. A label was stuck on me, an image that I was trying to escape from.

“I had lost the smile when playing, I had found coaches who had a different vision than mine. I am a playmaker, maybe they wanted a different profile or tried to change my way of playing

“. I have experienced my own personal struggle. It is part of the journey and having suffered humanly has led me to grow in any case even if it was painful.”

What is Milan for you?

“For me, Milan is family. From the first day I entered this context I felt an integral part. I thank Dr. Galliani, President Berlusconi who is no longer with us today. I thank Mauro Bianchessi who was close to me and Filippo Galli who always made me feel at home. And the various coaches.”

Is Milan also your favourite team?

“I have two favourite teams, Milan and Real Madrid.”

Filippo Galli has often praised your technical qualities, which are hard to find in today’s game…

“Creative football is increasingly rare, we limit ourselves more to the schemes that the players make their own and when you watch the games the fun is probably less. Galli was in love with my technique and gave me advice.

“The path he saw for me was more cautious, different from the one I took. In the end my skills led me to play with the older ones, to the point that from the youth sector I immediately made the leap to the first team. He was right, I needed a more gradual path.”

Seedorf named you as a substitute when you were 15, but you never made your full debut…

“I felt ready. From the first training sessions I felt at ease, with Seedorf I felt great and Kakà took me under his wing from the first day. Learning from him was incredible. It was a great team if I think back to the players who were there. I have a dream inside: to return to Milan one day.”

YouTube has amplified your qualities, to the extent that you became known for compilations…

“It’s true, I was the trailblazer. What I can say is that if on one hand it is important to create an image, the focus must remain on the field. And you have to surround yourself with people who know how to manage these things, because for a boy it is not easy.”

How much do social media messages affect you?

“I tried to keep the energy away from me, but it is inevitable that comments are read and people close to you like friends send you comments or articles. Like it or not, the comments reach you and it is not easy.”

Today’s Milan has another child prodigy called Francesco Camarda. There are already huge expectations on him. What do you feel like telling him?

“I clearly see myself in him, he has done things that I have done. What I can tell him is to continue like this, to play with a smile and find the pleasure of entering the field every day and showing first of all to himself what kind of player he is.

“He is the one who enters the field and if he doesn’t have a clear head it’s difficult, so he has to be good at freeing himself from pressure. Of course, San Siro is scary but at that age there are two things: either you are scared of entering or you get excited.

“It’s very much part of the boy’s character, but I think that the recklessness of age leads him to get excited.”