ANTONIO CONTE claims that Paris Saint-Germain ace Achraf Hakimi wants to return to Real Madrid one day as a main player.
The 22-year-old Madrid native started his career at Los Blancos but was sold to Inter Milan when Conte was boss last year for £40.5million.
The right wing-back seemed to have a promising future at Madrid after providing nine goals and ten assists in 46 games in the season the club sold him.
Despite Hakimi’s vital input, Madrid’s manager at the time, Zinedine Zidane, couldn’t see him taking Dani Carvajal’s spot in the first team.
After Hakimi’s arrival at the San Siro, he helped Inter lift the Serie A title with seven goals and eight assists in 37 games, just days before Conte sensationally quit as boss.
But during their Scudetto winning season, Inter crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Hakimi’s former club Madrid, with the defender scoring an own goal in the tie.
Conte reckons going up against his old teammates had a psychological effect on Hakimi, who’s desperate to play for them once more with a point to prove.
The Italian told Sky Sports Italia, reported by Marca: “Psychologically, Hakimi suffered a little bit from last year’s games against Real Madrid.
“His dream is to play for that club again as a key player.”
Since those games and his blunder against Madrid, Conte says he saw a major improvement from Hakimi throughout the rest of last season, and now believes he’s one of the best-attacking wing-backs in the world.
The ex-Chelsea boss added: “I remember those two games very well. From that point on, he worked a lot and I saw a young player who wanted to learn how to [improve].
“He understood that what he was doing attacking-wise was not enough; now he is among the best in the world.
It may be some time before Hakimi returns to the Bernabeu after he signed a five-year deal with PSG for £59m this summer, where he linked up with ex-Madrid pal Sergio Ramos.
And for now the Morrocan national will be focused on trying to win the Champions League with the Ligue 1 outfit, with critics questioning if their star-studded squad are capable of doing so.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
