Mehdi Benatia says he has faced criticism over his decision to snub Manchester United to sign for Al Duhail, but the Moroccan defender says he did so in order to raise his family in a Muslim country.
In need of a new central defender, Manchester United pegged Benatia as one of several winter targets, but ultimately fell short as the Juventus defender turned down an offer to move to England.
Instead, the 31-year-old central defender opted to move to Qatar to join Al Duhail, and made his debut for the club in a 1-0 loss to Al Gharafa on Thursday.