Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi has spoken about his hopes of winning the Ballon d'Or after a spectacular season with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In an interview with Canal+ on Saturday, the player discussed a dream that could soon come true. «If I have the chance to win it, I think I deserve it too. After the historic season I've had—there aren't many players who have scored in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final, especially when it's harder as a defender. People think I'm a forward or a midfielder, but no, I play in a back four and I have to think about defending,» he said. Recalling his statistics for the year, Hakimi acknowledged that «they're not those of a normal defender». «I think that when a defender does that, he deserves it more than a forward,» he added. Speaking about his role with the Atlas Lions, Hakimi expressed pride in representing Morocco. «Morocco called me up when I was at Real Madrid's academy; it's my parents' country. I try to attend every call-up, to stay ready for everything, whenever the national team needs me,» he said. For Hakimi, «there are still many matches ahead and we're going to try to be ready for all of them». «It's a dream moment. It's the first time Morocco will host an AFCON. It's going to be magnificent! It's also a goal for me to achieve great things with Morocco. Our aim is to win this AFCON. It's a pressure we'll need to manage well, but we have to take responsibility.» Achraf Hakimi, the right-back for Morocco and PSG, is included for the first time in his career in the 30-player shortlist for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, which will be awarded on September 22. With PSG this year, he won the Champions League, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, and the Trophée des Champions, and was a finalist at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Article modifié le 10/08/2025 à 17h02
