Ademola Lookman was crowned African Ballon d’Or on Monday in Marrakech, notably ahead of Achraf Hakimi who only finished third in the competition. The Paris Saint-Germain player was nevertheless present at the ceremony even if he was not the lucky winner. To bring him here, the African Football Confederation (CAF) made him believe that he was going to receive the distinction. Completely false after all.
Au Moroccothe frustration was great. Whistles even rang out in the hall. Movenpick Convention Center at the time of the announcement of the name ofAdemola Lookman as winner of the prestigious individual trophy in succession Victor Osimhenhis compatriot.
A presence in the eleven-type and then that’s it
Judge was stunned by the verdict as noted by our colleagues at Footmercato. The right-back even left the room frustrated with his mother and brother who accompanied him for the ceremony. Also, the French media notes that the CAF phished the Parisian telling him that there was “good news” concerning him.
Finally, it is only a designation in the African eleven of the year for Judge and that’s it. Worse still, he was only third in the final ranking of the African Ballon d’Or 2024 behind Ademola Lookman et Serhou Guirassy (Guinea). A few hours before the announcement of the verdict, the media at Morocco tried to make people believe that Judge could claim the Ballon d’Or thanks to his national titles with the PSG but also the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with the Lions of the Atlas. The said quest did not weigh in front of the CV of Lookman whose journey Nigeria to the CAN 2023 (finalists) and his big contribution in the victory in UEFA Ligue Europa (triplet in the final) were decisive.
