Achraf Hakimi, the Moroccan international and PSG defender, has secured the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men’s Player of the Year Award for 2025.
He won the coveted prize over rivals Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Galatasaray).
The winner was revealed on Wednesday at the high-profile CAF Awards ceremony in Rabat, Morocco, reports Persecondnews.
Hakimi, who was the sole finalist in attendance, is the first right-back to take the award in over a decade.
After narrowly missing out as runner-up in both 2023 (to Victor Osimhen) and 2024 (to Ademola Lookman), this triumph represents a long-awaited historic breakthrough for the 27-year-old Hakimi, securing him Africa’s top individual football award.
The win also ends a long drought for Morocco, marking the nation’s first victory since Mustapha Hadji in 1998.
Significantly, Hakimi is only the fourth defender to ever claim the prestigious award.

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