Not Salah. Determined the best player of the year in Africa. I had to come with a gurney

27-year-old Moroccan right-back Ashraf Hakimi from PSG (France) became the best player of 2025 in Africa.

Hakimi received the prize from the Confederation of African Football on November 19 in Rabat (Morocco), where the award ceremony took place.

Ashraf’s competitors were Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Galatasaray). Neither Salah nor Osikhmen came to the event.

But Hakimi, who suffered a terrible leg injury in the Champions League match against Bayern and was out for at least two months, came to the award ceremony with a special gurney.

In addition to the prize for the best player of the year, the winners of the following awards were also announced in Rabat:

• The best goalkeeper of the year – Yassin Bounou (Morocco, Al-Hilal)
• The best national team of the year is Morocco U-20
• The best club of the year – Pyramids (Egypt)
• The best coach – Bubishta (Cape Verde)
• The best young player – Vidman Maamma (Morocco, Watford)
• The best player in Africa – Fiston Meille (DR Congo, Pyramids)

Achraf Hakimi pulled to the 2025 CAF Awards on a knee walker 🤕 pic.twitter.com/duMHc1sMoM

— ESPN Africa (@ESPNAfrica) November 19, 2025

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