Star playing in Spain harshly refuses to join Malaysia team

(Dan Tri) - Midfielder Mikel Jauregizar, currently playing for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga (Spain), said he does not want to become a naturalized citizen to play for the Malaysian national team.

Recently, there has been news that midfielder Mikel Jauregizar, who is currently playing in La Liga, will become a naturalized player to play for the Malaysian national team. However, speaking to the Spanish newspaper Marca recently, the young player expressed a different opinion.

Mikel Jauregizar refused to play for the Malaysian national team (Photo: Getty).

Mikel Jauregizar said: “This is false information, I have no connection with Malaysian football. I will not play for the Malaysian national team.”

Mikel Jauregizar is 21 years old, but he has two seasons of experience playing in La Liga, playing for Athletic Bilbao. Mikel Jauregizar has 41 appearances for the Basque team, scoring 2 goals (as of the end of the 2024-2025 season).

Recently, the Malaysian team has been very active in naturalizing players of European and South American origin, in order to increase the strength of this team.

That is why whenever any player has a connection with Malaysia, they are often rumored to be naturalized as Malaysian to play for Harimau Malaya.

Ferdy Druijf denies having Malaysian roots (Photo: Getty).

However, midfielder Mikel Jauregizar affirmed: “People make up all kinds of stories, but I will not wear the Malaysian national team shirt. I also did not answer the Malaysian journalist about this issue, as social media is rumored. Everything is his imagination.”

Not only Mikel Jauregizar, another player born in Europe, striker Ferdy Druijf (Netherlands), also denied the possibility of playing for the team nicknamed Harimau Malaya.

Ferdy Druijf is 27 years old and 1m90 tall. He used to play for the Netherlands U20 team and is currently playing for Almere City Club (Netherlands).

Ferdy Druijf told ESPN in the Netherlands about the rumor that he would become a Malaysian citizen and play for this team: "It's crazy, there's an account on social media saying that I have Malaysian roots and that I can play for the national team of this country."

“I myself don’t know anything about this, nor does my family. I don’t know what’s going on,” Ferdy Druijf shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/ngoi-sao-thi-dau-tai-tay-ban-nha-tu-choi-phu-phang-tuyen-malaysia-20250624154517639.htm