Van de Beek on his friend Nouri: "After the tragedy, I slept in his bed"

The relationship between Van de Beek and Nouri is still fantastic. A friendship which has remained intact despite the fragile health of the ex-footballer who had a bright future ahead of him.

"He really had the quality to reach the top. I was convinced he would reach the very top. I have always said up. Sadly we will never find out," Van de Beek told a Dutch media outlet.

Nouri was left in a coma for 13 months after fainting during a friendly in July 2017. He suffered severe brain damage. Now he is at home where he has experienced an improvement. Something which had a big impact on Van de Beek's life. In fact, Van de Beek has a photo of himself with Nouri as his profile picture on Whatsapp: "I will keep this photo for ever. I have used it since it happened."

But as well as that, Van de Beek forged a great relationship with Nouri's family after that friendly against Werder Bremen. 

"After the tragedy, I visited Nouri's family a lot. I spoke to them a lot and we shared our feelings. Mo (Abdelhak's brother) always slept in the dame room as Nouri so I went to sleep in Nouri's bed," the Ajax star revealed.