Adam Masina Reportedly Retires at 32 and Moves Into Coaching in Italy

Italian reports say Morocco defender Adam Masina, 32, has decided to retire from football and move into coaching, joining the staff of Serie D club Progresso Calcio. He won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco and has been without a club since Torino ended his contract by mutual agreement in February 2026.

Key points

• Italian outlets, including Tuttomercatoweb, reported the retirement on 14 October 2026.
• Progresso Calcio announced Francesco Salmi as head coach and said Masina is joining his staff as a technical assistant.
• The club’s statement did not explicitly mention retirement, according to Morocco World News.
• Masina won 28 caps for Morocco.
• A serious cruciate ligament injury in late August 2022 hit his career hard.

What is confirmed and what is reported

Confirmed by the club: Progresso Calcio, a Serie D side based in Castel Maggiore near Bologna, named Francesco Salmi as head coach in place of Francesco Cattani and brought Masina into the technical staff. Reports quote general manager Simone Matta saying Masina wanted a coaching career and that the idea had been discussed for some time.

Reported: the retirement itself. Morocco World News writes that he “has reportedly decided to retire”, citing Tuttomercatoweb, while some Arabic outlets describe it as official. We therefore treat it as reported until Masina or his representatives confirm it.

Who is Adam Masina?

Item	Details
Born	2 January 1994, Khouribga, Morocco
Position	Centre-back
Clubs	Bologna, Watford, Udinese, Torino
Morocco caps	28, no goals
Major title	Africa Cup of Nations 2025 with Morocco

A childhood far from Morocco

Masina was born in Khouribga and lost his mother as an infant. He moved to Italy with his father and brother and grew up in Emilia-Romagna. According to Wikipedia he was later placed with several foster families and was eventually adopted by one, whose surname he carries. These personal details come from a single source, and accounts on social media differ on the ages involved, so we keep to the broad outline.

Club career

He came through Bologna’s academy and helped the club win promotion to Serie A in 2015, making about 131 appearances for the first team and scoring four goals. He joined Watford in the summer of 2018 (90 appearances, 3 goals), then moved to Udinese (18 appearances, 2 goals) and Torino (51 appearances, 1 goal). By December 2025 his club total stood at 301 appearances and 10 goals, according to Wikipedia. Torino ended his contract by mutual consent in February 2026.

With Morocco and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

Masina chose Morocco after playing six games for Italy’s under-21s, and made his debut on 26 March 2021 against Mauritania. He was in the squad for the 2025 tournament, hosted in Morocco from December 2025 to January 2026, and started most games, reports say.

Reports add that his last appearance was the final against Senegal in Rabat on 18 January 2026, when he went off injured, and that Morocco’s title was later confirmed by a CAF Appeal Jury ruling. He was not named by coach Mohamed Ouahbi for the 2026 World Cup or the September-October camp, the same reports say.

What we could not verify

A claim circulating on social media says Morocco conceded no goals while Masina was on the pitch. We found no reliable source for that statistic, so we do not repeat it.

What happens next

Masina starts with a club that has lost five straight games and sits near the bottom of its group, according to Morocco World News, so his first job as an assistant is a demanding one.

Frequently asked questions

Has Adam Masina officially retired?

Italian media report it; the club has confirmed only that he joined its coaching staff.

How old is Adam Masina?

32. He was born on 2 January 1994.

How many caps did Masina win for Morocco?

28, without scoring.

Which club is he joining?

Progresso Calcio, a Serie D club near Bologna, as a technical assistant to Francesco Salmi.

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• Latest football news

Sources: Morocco World News (citing Tuttomercatoweb); Africa Soccer, Ghanasoccernet, Mountakhab and 1000cuorirossoblu (coverage of the move); Wikipedia (background and career numbers).