Hakimi, not Guirassy, crowned Africa’s Footballer of the Year | OneFootball

Already at the beginning of the week it became known that the award for Africa’s Footballer of the Year would not go to Serhou Guirassy. While the Borussia Dortmund striker was not among the top three candidates, a former BVB player received the prize in Morocco on Wednesday evening.

Achraf Hakimi, who played 54 Bundesliga matches for BVB on loan at the start of his career, prevailed in the vote over Egyptian Mohamed Salah and Nigerian Victor Osimhen, who had already been named Africa’s Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and 2023 respectively. The 27-year-old right-back thus succeeds Ademola Lookman (Atalanta Bergamo), who played no role in the awarding of the top spots this time.

Champions League victory likely the decisive factor

Hakimi’s main advantage, who finished sixth in the Ballon d’Or and has now become the first nominal defender to be honored since Bwanga Tshimen in 1973, was likely winning the Champions League with Paris St. Germain. Salah with Liverpool FC and Osimhen with Galatasaray Istanbul, on the other hand, “only” won domestic titles.

“It is a great honor for me to be here today, and I am proud to win such a prestigious trophy,” said Hakimi, who is currently working on his comeback after suffering an ankle injury in the Champions League match against Bayern Munich following a foul by Luis Diaz – hoping to be fit in time for the start of the Africa Cup on December 21, right in front of his home crowd in Morocco.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.