00:05Ashraf Hakimi is the biggest name in Moroccan football and a player redefining the role of
00:11a right-sided defender. Still just 27 when the World Cup gets underway, Hakimi's CV is
00:21already the stuff of fantasy.
00:25At club level, he is a UEFA Champions League winner with two teams. He's celebrated major
00:32honours in four out of the big five European leagues. And he's been named in the team of
00:39the season in Italy, Germany and France. At international level, he's won an Olympic
00:50bronze medal. Played in a World Cup semi-final, and is on track to earn close to 200 caps.
00:59At the very top of his profession, Hakimi will be one of the individual stars of the 2026
01:06World Cup.
01:12Born in Madrid to Moroccan parents, Hakimi was enrolled in the Real Madrid youth system.
01:18And he made his debut for Los Blancos in a pre-season friendly when he was only 17. Although low
01:27in
01:27the pecking order for a spot at right full-back, Hakimi was involved in the Real squad that ended
01:32the year as Champions League winners. At 19 years of age, he was the first Moroccan to
01:40claim the biggest prize in European club football.
01:46Real recognised Hakimi was too good to not be playing regular first-team football, so arranged
01:52alone with German giants Borussia Dortmund.
01:58In his first Champions League outing for Dortmund, he made three assists.
02:05Not long afterwards, he was measured as breaking the Bundesliga record for the top speed of a
02:11player in the competition.
02:15After two successful years at the Westfalenstadion, Real cashed in on their young asset, selling Hakimi
02:22to Internazionale. By the end of his first year at San Siro, he had a Serie A title.
02:30By now, Hakimi was recognised as one of the finest attacking right full-backs in the world.
02:35And it was little surprise when Paris Saint-Germain threw a fistful of dollars at Inter to add
02:41Hakimi to their roster of superstars.
02:47He was revealed at the Parc des Princes alongside Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma,
02:54and remains long after those higher profile names have been deemed surplus to requirements.
03:03After an odyssey collecting European superclubs, Paris is where Hakimi looks set to spend the
03:09bulk of his career.
03:14My decision was very easy.
03:16You only have to see the roster of players, the ambition as a team, and that they wanted
03:21me here. So all that made it an easy decision. I am very happy, and I am looking forward to
03:32proving PSG made no mistake signing me. Paris is one of the cities with the biggest African
03:42and Muslim communities, and that was one of the main reasons to join them, because I identify
03:48with this community. I am very happy to come here and enjoy this culture. I want to learn
03:57new things with the French people."
04:03During his incredible rise in clubland, Hakimi has been turning out for Morocco. He has been
04:09a regular since 2017 and will be approaching a century of caps by the end of the World Cup.
04:17He was the youngest member of the squad at Russia 2018, and on field for every minute
04:23of play.
04:27I had the opportunity to play at the Russia World Cup and it was an amazing feeling, one
04:32of the greatest experiences of my life. I would love to repeat it. I want to play and to put
04:41Morocco where it deserves to be, among the best teams in the world, in order to play against
04:46Neymar or Umbapé or Spain like happened in Russia. Of course, I would love to be back."
04:55At Qatar 2022 he was pivotal in Morocco's incredible run to the semi-finals, dinking a Penenka to
05:02seal a penalty shootout victory over Spain in the round of 16. It made him and his teammates
05:10national heroes.
05:13If they won the World Cup, we won the world. Our joy is indescribable. It is a joyous event
05:22for the Arab world and for Africa. It's only the beginning.
05:28King Mohammed VI invited the team to the Royal Palace in Rabat to hand out order of the throne
05:34vissams in honour of their performance. And a documentary was made celebrating the accomplishment
05:42and its impact on Morocco. But with Hakimi at his imperious best, and Morocco still riding
05:52the crest of a wave, who knows how many more Royal Awards and movies might be coming his
05:57way in 2026.
05:59King Mohammed VI
05:59King Mohammed VI
05:59King Mohammed VI
06:00King Mohammed VI
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