Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defender Achraf Hakimi has been recognized as the leading African player in the French league following a stellar performance that helped his team secure their 13th Ligue 1 title and advance to the Champions League final. The 26-year-old Moroccan player earned the prestigious Marc-Vivien Foe award, surpassing Nice’s forward Evann Guessand from Ivory Coast and Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg in the voting.
This award commemorates the late Foe, a beloved Cameroon player and two-time African champion, who tragically passed away on the field during a match in France in 2003 while representing his national team. Hakimi, celebrated for being among the world’s top right-backs, recently scored in PSG’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal.
Achraf Hakimi is notably the second defender to claim this award, with Congolese player Chancel Mbemba being the first. Hakimi also joins the ranks of fellow Moroccans Marouane Chamakh (2009), Younès Belhanda (2012), and Sofiane Boufal (2016) to receive this honor.
This season, PSG is aiming to achieve its first-ever treble. The club is set to compete in the Champions League final against Inter Milan on May 31, and they also have a French Cup final encounter with Reims scheduled the week before.
The Gabonese striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, was the recipient of this accolade in 2024, further highlighting the recognition of outstanding African talent within the league.