PSG’s Hakimi Eyes African Ballon d’Or After Stellar Season

Despite a busy schedule, punctuated by PSG matches, the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), the Olympics, World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches with Morocco, Hakimi is preparing to exceed the sixty mark this week with the upcoming matches against Monaco and Lens.

This prolific season could be crowned by the African Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded on Monday in Marrakech. Such a distinction would place him alongside Mustapha Hadji, the only Moroccan to have won this title in 1998. It would highlight his remarkable performances with the national team, despite the memory of the missed penalty in the round of 16 of the last CAN against South Africa, as well as his evolution at PSG since the arrival of Luis Enrique, recalls Le Parisien.

Hakimi, who describes himself with a mix of irony and seriousness as a striker, has found in Luis Enrique a coach who understands his qualities, his ambitions and his past frustrations. Previously, the player had sometimes expressed a certain annoyance, feeling limited in his runs and not always considered as an option by his teammates, notably Messi and Di Maria. He had also expressed reservations about the lack of balance in the team.

Christophe Jallet, a former PSG right-back who is now a consultant for Canal +, has observed a transformation in the player: "He had a period where I found him bridled, we felt him more in difficulty defensively because he was only focusing on that aspect of the game and was not using his qualities. Now, we see him in total confidence with the coach, with the role assigned to him. We will judge him on the offensive aspect and mentally, there is a form of liberation that makes him recover a lot of balls. Even in the one-on-one, I feel him strong, confident in fact. He has gained in assurance."

Luis Enrique has been able to take advantage of Hakimi’s potential by allowing him to fully express his offensive qualities. The Spanish coach, with a touch of humor, even declared after the draw against Nantes, still according to Le Parisien: "He only plays defender when Donnarumma has the ball. He plays like a striker, like a winger and cannot play higher, otherwise he would be with the Ultras."

With three goals and six assists to his name, Hakimi is on track to surpass his statistics from previous seasons, regaining a dynamic comparable to the one he had at Milan, where he was more decisive than at Paris. "When we see his performances since the start of the season, there is no debate. This year, he is giving the full measure of his talent and we have found the Hakimi of Inter," affirms Christophe Jallet, quoted by Le Parisien.

However, Luis Enrique tempers this enthusiasm, believing that Hakimi still has room for improvement: "Hakimi is good but he can do better. Even more," he said before the match against Lyon. He also recalled the importance of the player within the squad. With 1,569 minutes played since the start of the season, or twelve more than Pacho, Hakimi is the player most used by the Parisian coach.