Elected “best Moroccan player abroad” this season by the Moroccan Union of Professional Footballers, Achraf Hakimi, the PSG defender, is on the list of ten nominees for the male award for the best African player communicated on Monday. Defector from Inter Milan during the summer of 2021, he made a place for himself in the Parisian right corridor. The 23-year-old French champion made a successful debut in Ligue 1. A solid defender, the Real Madrid-trained player has also scored 4 goals and 6 assists in 32 league games this season.
Last year, the Egyptian of Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, was rewarded. He is seeking his own succession. Hakimi is one of two representatives of Ligue 1 along with Olympique Lyonnais striker Karl-Toko Ekambi. Big names in the Premier League, like Riyad Mahrez, or goalkeeper Édouard Mendy are in the running for this distinction. Bayern Munich’s new signing, Senegalese Sadio Mané, is also one of the favourites.
The individual award of “African player of the year” takes into account the performance of each player over the season from September 2021 to June 2022. The 2022 CAF Awards ceremony will take place on July 21 in Rabat, Morocco.