Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, former star of Arsenal in England and current star of Al-Qadisiyah in Saudi Arabia, mocked the choices of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in the list of candidates for “Best Player of Africa 2024”. prize, which was devoid of figures such as Moroccans Ibrahim Diaz and Ayoub Al-Kaabi and Ghanaian Mohamed Quddus.
Aubameyang, who won the African Player of the Year award in 2015, expressed his displeasure through a tweet on his official account on social media platform ‘X’, where he wrote: “Damn, the 6 best players do not exist.
Although he did not name specific names, observers believed his comment was referring to prominent players such as Ayoub El Kaabi, Ibrahim Diaz, Salah, Quddus and Victor Boniface.
And the top 6 here we go 😁💪🏽
Ah, nothing else 😵💫 it’s the top 6 of those that don’t work 😂😂
– AUBA⚡️ (@Auba) October 24, 2024
The press expected that Brahim Díaz would win the award, after his brilliant career with Real Madrid, where he greatly contributed to the crowning of the “Merengue” in the Spanish League, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League. Champions last season 2023-24.
List of candidates
The list of candidates for the “Best African Player 2024” award includes three Arab stars, namely the Moroccan duo Achraf Hakimi and Sofiane Rahimi, in addition to the Algerian striker Amine Gouiri.
The general list of candidates includes 9 professionals from outside the African continent, with one local player, South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, star of Mamelodi Sundowns.
It is worth noting that Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen was crowned the best African player last year in 2023, but he was absent from the list of candidates for the title this year after his performances declined with Italian club Naples, and he was loaned to Turkish side Galatasaray during the last summer transfer market.
Candidates for the 2024 African Player of the Year award: Amine Gouiri (forward, Stade Rennais, France), Achraf Hakimi (defender, Paris Saint-Germain, France), Sofiane Rahimi (forward, Al Ain, UAE), Edmund Tapsoba ( defender, Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Simon Adingra (winger, Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Chancel Mbemba (French defender for Olympique de Marseille), Serho Geraci (German striker for Borussia Dortmund), Ademola Lookman (Italian winger for Atalanta), Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi goalkeeper of Sundowns, South Africa), William Troost-Ekong (Saudi defender of Al Khulud)
