In just 8 minutes, Zidan Iqbal, an 18-year-old, managed to capture global attention and became the second most famous player in Manchester United after Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the most sought-after by journalists for interviews. The young Iraqi, who has only played 8 minutes with the first team this season, has become the talk of the town, according to the "Manchester Evening" newspaper.
Reports reveal that the interest surrounding Iqbal became evident when United received countless requests from media outlets focused on football in the Middle East recently, prompting the club to conduct an internal interview with him after he was called up to the Iraqi national team for the first time this week.
The newspaper's report indicated that Iqbal has become a pioneer in the Asian professional football community, as he participated in a match between Iraq and Iran on Thursday, making him the 32nd player currently at United who plays for his national team.
After the match, the Iraqi player expressed his happiness through his Instagram account, writing: "I am pleased to have played my first international match despite the result." According to sources, the young player signed his first professional contract with Manchester United last year, is known among friends as "Zee," and is described as humble and intelligent.
It is worth noting that Iqbal was born in Manchester to an Iraqi mother and a Pakistani father, and he excelled with the Iraqi Olympic team in the West Asian Championship held in Saudi Arabia last October, where the Iraqi Olympic team reached the semifinals.
