Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Monday, March 02, 2026, 12:48 / Updated Monday, March 02, 2026 12:48
Munir El Haddadi (30 years old), the Moroccan footballer who played for Barcelona, managed to escape from Iran, a country bombed by Israel and the United States of America.
He left the country with a car provided by the club in the first Iranian league where he plays, Esteghlal. The attacking midfielder recounted his experience on social media. The footballer fled with Ivan Sanchez, his Spanish teammate from the Iran team. The two tried to leave by plane, but the airspace was closed. They had to flee by car to the border with Turkey, and then took the plane to Spain.
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On the last day of February, Israel together with the United States of America launched a military attack on Iran, called “Operation Epic Fury”, with the aim of destroying parts of the military and nuclear capabilities of the state with the capital in Terehan.
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Several bases in Iran were bombed throughout the day, and the Iranians were quick to retaliate, launching missiles and drones at military bases and other targets linked to Israel in countries in the Persian Gulf, such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain or Kuwait.
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As a result of the attacks launched in Iran, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was killed.
Munir El Haddadi, former Barcelona footballer, explained how he managed to flee Iran: “They provided me with a car”
“I want to thank everyone for the messages and concern for my situation in Iran. Yesterday we were planning to leave the country by plane, but we were evacuated and could not take off. The club provided me with a car so that I could leave the country by land and I managed to cross the border without any problems. I am now safe in Turkey and will arrive in Spain in the next few hours. Thank you all for your support,” the footballer said on social media. socialization, according to fanat.tr.
Finally Munir El Haddadi arrived in Spain and spoke with Spanish reporters. The footballer showed the journalists footage from the car ride in Iran.
🚨 BREAKING: Ex Barça player Munir El Haddadi has safely left Iran and arrived in Spain, He traveled by road into Turkey following military air strikes
He even showed journalists footage he filmed himself from the road during the bombings. 😬
pic.twitter.com/1qhoxqT9h— Barca Xtra (@Barcaxtr) March 2, 2026
We managed to leave at seven o'clock and were on the road for 16 hours. I played Parcheesi (no board game) with a teammate. I only slept for an hour. You can't relax, you can't sleep, I was desperate. You are constantly looking at cars
-Munir El Haddadi, according to Marca
Munir El Haddadi trained at the academy of Atletico Madrid and La Masia. He reached the seniors of the Catalans in 2015. He also played in Spain at Valencia, Alaves Sevilla, Getafe, Las Palmas and Leganes. The experience at Esteghlal, the team he signed with in the summer of 2025, is his first abroad. It is quoted by specialized websites at 1.5 million euros. At the senior level, he represented the Moroccan national team: 11 appearances and two decisive assists.
12 goalsin 56 matches Munir El Haddadi has Barcelona. He also ticked off 9 decisive assists
