Mohamed Ali Chelbi, a young goalkeeper from the Tunisian team CS Sfaxien, chose to get on a migrant boat with other migrants and cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy.

He reported the news himself by posting a selfie on social media while onboard one of the many boats leaving Tunisia and headed for Italy in early August.

The news shook his team's fans and led to debate on social media over the reasons behind Chelbi's decision. He had recently received his high-school diploma, the French baccalaureat, reported many of the papers.

But one online portal Sports News Africa said that although CS Sfaxien was one of the top teams in Tunisia, the economic woes the country is suffering means that a lot of people's futures, especially those of young people look uncertain.

In addition, wrote SNA, some players at Chelbi's club have reportedly spent several months waiting for their salaries to be paid. According to SNA, the club needed help from the Tunisian football federation to settle seven financial disputes before it was allowed to participate in the next season of football.

It was not reported whether Chelbi had anything to do with the alleged financial disputes.

'I decided to emigrate due to injustice suffered in Tunisia'

"I chose to emigrate clandestinely due to injustice I suffered in Tunisia. I asked for a visa and was denied it. I have received offers of work in Italy and now I am in a reception center," the young goalkeeper told local radio station Mosaique FM, which contacted him in Italy.

"We are in shock and I would have liked for Chelbi to talk to me about his problems," the same radio station was told by Moez Triki, CS Sfaxien coach. Triki added that Chelbi "can never sign with another club without our agreement as he is under contract."

Chelbi's father was also interviewed by the radio station: "I did not know that my son had decided to emigrate illegally. He called me on Friday to say that he had arrived in Italy. We tried several times to get a visa, but in vain," his father told the radio station, underscoring that his son "was called up for tryouts by four Italian teams."

The father claimed that "my son suffered an incomprehensible injustice at CS Sfaxien and the national team. He was fed up. He does not want to come back to Tunisia. The national team chose goalkeepers in an unfair manner. My son suffered a great deal."

Dozens try to emigrate from the country every day

Dozens of Tunisians try to leave the country and become migrants every day. On Saturday, 22 got on a boat in the Monastir governorate, putting their lives at risk in so doing. They were rescued by a Tunisian naval unit while experiencing difficulty at sea off the island of Kuriat, according to the Tunisian defense ministry. Among them were three women and nine children.

The ministry said that the boat had set off from Monastir during the night between Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 "with the aim of reaching European space".The migrants "were transferred to the Monastir port and handed over to the National Guard to finalize necessary procedures," a statement said.

On Aug. 6, the Tunisian Coast Guard stopped three attempts at illegal migration from the Monastir coasts, detaining a total of 43 migrants, reported the TAP news agency, quoting a security source.

The source said that the first two attempts had been made by 31 people from sub-Saharan Africa including nine women and four children, while the third involved 12 young Tunisians from the Gafsa and Monastir governorates.

Those detained were handed over to the National Guard and the three boats were seized alongside large sums of money, the source said.