Bayer Leverkusen’s 18-year-old midfielder Gonzalo Castro has opted to play for Germany rather than Spain.

Castro, born in Germany to Spanish parents, had the choice f playing for either country but he has decide to represent the country of his birth.

“It was without doubt the hardest decision of my life,” Castro said on Thursday. “But I feel at home in Germany. I learned my football here.”

Castro could make his debut in the first leg of the European Under-21 Championship play-offs in the Czech Republic on Friday.

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