On the eve of the opening match of AFCON 2025, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi received FIFA’s “The Best” trophy, “The Best Starting 11”, at the Mohammed VI Football Complex from Gianni Infantino and Fouzi Lekjaa.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa, and former Moroccan international Houssine Kharja presented FIFA’s The Best Starting XI to Achraf Hakimi at the national team’s base camp at the Mohammed VI Football complex, on the eve of the AFCON 2025 opening match.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender was named in the Men’s Team of the Year, revealed by FIFA in Doha (Qatar) on December 16.
Hakimi, also voted African Footballer of the Year by CAF, was selected for FIFA’s The Best Starting XI, which brings together the eleven best players of the 2024-2025 football season.
With ten goals and 12 assists last season with PSG, Hakimi surpassed his best performance, when he scored nine times and delivered ten assists in 45 matches with Borussia Dortmund in 2019
In this prestigious eleven, Hakimi is joined by several Paris teammates, including Vitinha, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Dembélé. Spanish coach Luis Enrique won the Coach of the Year award.
The rest of the team includes Lamine Yamal and Pedri (FC Barcelona), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Cole Palmer (Chelsea FC), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC), and Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain).
Being included in the Team of the Year crowns an exceptional season for the Atlas Lion: winner of the UEFA Champions League with PSG, French champion, winner of the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions (French Super Cup), and a finalist in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Individually, Hakimi was named African Ballon d’Or, selected in the CAF 2024 Team of the Year, the Ligue 1 2024–2025 Team of the Year, and the Champions League 2024–2025 Team of the Year. He won the Marc-Vivien Foé Prize and finished 6th in France Football’s Ballon d’Or, confirming his status as a world reference at his position.
