A Malaysian newspaper reported that player Nacho Mendez (27 years old) is in the process of completing procedures to become a Malaysian citizen. If he successfully naturalizes, Nacho can play for the national team at the CAFA Nations Cup in September.
This tournament has the participation of a series of strong teams such as Iran, Uzbekistan, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
According to Malaysian media, thanks to his Malaysian grandfather, Nacho Mendez's naturalization process went quite smoothly. This helps him qualify to play for the national team as soon as he completes the procedures.
Mendez has just ended his contract with Sporting Gijon in the Spanish First Division on July 1 and is currently a free player, with a valuation of about 1.5 million euros. He grew up at the Gijon Academy and spent 8 years playing for the first team with 203 matches and 15 goals.
Against Nacho Mendez, in June, the Malaysian team welcomed 5 naturalized players including facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca Jon Irazabal, Joao Figueiredo and Rodrigo Holcado.
Thanks to that, they increased their strength significantly to defeat the Vietnamese team with a score of 4-0 in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Despite the controversy over accusations of illegal naturalization, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) still affirms that everything is done according to the correct procedure.
The addition of Nacho Mendez is expected to help Malaysia be more flexible in midfield, especially when facing opponents outside Southeast Asia.
