Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has surprisingly been beaten to the 2025 African Footballer of the Year prize, despite being the continent’s highest-ranked player in the recent Ballon d’Or vote.
Instead, the latest annual CAF award has gone to Paris Saint-Germain full back Achraf Hakimi.
Fellow Moroccan Ghizlane Chebbak picked up the women’s prize, having top scored at the delayed 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations this year, helping her team finish as runners-up.
Salah had one of the all-time great individual seasons in English football in 2024–25. The “Egyptian King” racked up 29 Premier League goals and a further 18 assists in 38 appearances, spearheading Liverpool’s march towards only a second title in 35 years.
But the Reds fell short in both domestic cup competitions, while Champions League elimination came disappointingly early at the round of 16 stage at the hands of Hakimi’s PSG.
Still, Salah was voted into fourth place for the 2025 Ballon d’Or in September, behind only Ousmane Dembélé, Lamine Yamal and Vitinha. Barcelona’s Raphinha was next, with Hakimi in sixth place.
The former Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund defender had the best season of his career in 2024–25, playing 55 times across competitions as PSG completed a Ligue 1, Couple de France and Champions League treble, finally getting their hands on the elusive European trophy.
Hakimi’s 11 goals made it his most prolific campaign ever, with 16 assists on top giving him a direct goal involvement in virtually every other game.
Clearly, CAF voters valued Hakimi’s 2024–25 higher than Salah’s, with Champions League glory likely the swinging factor.
On stage receiving his award, the Madrid-born player raised in a Moroccan household said: “It’s really an honour for me to win this prestigious trophy. This trophy is not just for me—it is for all the Africans that have dreams.”
