Ismael Saibari had contact with his bosom friend before leaving for PSV: “It was very clear to see how happy he was for me.”

Ismael Saibari has been gone from PSV for about two months now. This summer, Saibari made the switch to the German giant FC Bayern München for a fee of 55 million euros, and there he plays—just as he did at PSV—with shirt number 34.

For his transition to Der Rekordmeister, the now former PSV player had contact with longtime friend Abdelhak Nouri. In July 2017, Nouri collapsed as a talented player from Ajax during a training match against SV Werder Bremen, and the midfielder consequently suffered permanent brain damage.

In the club magazine '51' of FC Bayern, Saibari speaks openly about his connection with Nouri and the family. ''What happened to Abdelhak breaks my heart. I’ve talked about it a lot with my mother, and visiting the sick is also part of my faith, Islam. Contact with Abdelhak’s family came about through my agent'', begins the attacking midfielder.

Because of this, both families developed a close bond of friendship with one another. ''He works together with Abdelhak's brother. The bond has become stronger day by day, also between the families. We even go on holiday together. When I see Abdelhak, we always have a great time. It's a beautiful thought that this joy may perhaps contribute to his condition improving,'' the Moroccan international continues.

In the end, Saibari also talks about his friend’s reaction to the transfer to FC Bayern and the decision to wear shirt number 34. ''Abdelhak, of course, cannot speak. He communicates with his eyebrows, and it was very clear to see how happy he was for me. I also left it up to him to decide which shirt number I would wear at Bayern. He chose number 34, so that is the number I chose,'' said the former PSV player, referring to the fact that Nouri played for Ajax with shirt number 34.