Ayoub Bouaddi has revealed that former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was his biggest footballing inspiration, recalling how he searched YouTube daily for videos of the Spanish great’s dribbling when he was a child.
The 18-year-old Manchester City player said Iniesta’s highlights were enough to leave a lasting impression, even though he did not watch many of the former Barcelona player’s full matches.
“If I had to choose one player I watched, I would choose Andres Iniesta,” Bouaddi said with a smile during a club podcast. “I did not watch many of his matches, but what I saw was amazing. I grew up in the generation of YouTube compilations and, when I was a child, I searched every day for videos of Iniesta’s dribbling.”
Bouaddi’s comments were made in reference to the clips that shaped his early understanding of the game. Rather than watching dozens of complete matches, he became familiar with Iniesta through compilations that showcased the midfielder’s close control, movement and ability to escape pressure.
He later announced himself on the international stage at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, most notably in Morocco’s opening match against Brazil.
Despite being only 18, Bouaddi controlled the midfield against far more experienced opponents. He dictated the tempo, displayed outstanding technical ability and demonstrated a maturity that enabled him to influence the game from the centre of the pitch.
Iniesta’s influence is not simply a passing detail in Bouaddi’s development. One of the former Spain international’s defining qualities was his ability to make highly difficult technical actions appear effortless.
From controlling the ball and directing it into the right spaces to turning away from opponents in tight areas and changing the pace of an attack, Iniesta possessed an exceptional range of skills. His trademark dribbles, in which he moved the ball between an opponent’s legs before accelerating in the opposite direction, became a familiar part of his game.
With the obvious differences between the two players taken into account, Bouaddi has also shown glimpses of that distinctive technical quality.
Manchester City were sufficiently convinced by what Bouaddi produced at the World Cup to pay close to 100m euros to sign him, moving ahead of several other leading European clubs.
The Morocco international had already attracted attention during his time at Lille. At 16 years and three days, he became the youngest player to appear in a European men’s club competition.
Bouaddi later impressed against Real Madrid in the Champions League at the age of 17, playing all 90 minutes in midfield and making a decisive contribution to Lille’s 1-0 victory. The match also featured Camavinga, Tchouameni, Valverde and Bellingham, while Modric and Guler came on later.
However, there remains a considerable distance between the Iniesta clips Bouaddi watched as a child and the comparisons now being made with some of Spain’s leading midfielders. He must still develop his own footballing identity and show that he can reproduce his qualities consistently at the highest level.
