Italian Serie A side Atalanta has celebrated newly crowned CAF Men’s Player of the Year Ademola LookmanThe Nigerian winger won the prestigious award for the first time after an amazing year with the reigning Europa League championsLookman defeated Achraf Hakimi, Simon Adingra, Serge Guirassy, and Ronwen Williams to win the historic award
Ademola Lookman’s success as the 2024 CAF Player of the Year was a source of pride not just for Nigeria, but also for his club, Atalanta.
The Italian Serie A team celebrated the Nigerian forward’s historic achievement in a great manner, praising his exceptional efforts both on and off the pitch.
Ademola Lookman delivered a powerful speech after being crowned Men’s Player of the Year at the 2024 CAF Awards. Photo credit: @CAF_Online
Source: Twitter
According to BBC, Lookman saw off competition from Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra, Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, Achraf Hakimi of Morocco, and South Africa’s Ronwen Williams to win the prestigious award.
The Atalanta forward becomes the second Nigerian to win the award in two consecutive years, taking over the crown from compatriot Victor Osimhen who won it in 2023.
Lookman is also the sixth Nigerian to win the CAF Player of the Year award after the likes of Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, and Osimhen.
How Atalanta celebrated Lookman’s POTY win
Meanwhile, Atalanta has described Lookman’s CAF Player of the Year win as ‘historic’ after the winger claimed the honour for the first time in his career.
The 27-year-old forward has been pivotal to the Italian club’s success in 2024, guiding them to win their first-ever European title after they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final with him scoring a hat-trick.
Lookman also helped Atalanta return to the UEFA Champions League this season and has been in the forefront of their Serie A title chase in the 2024/25 season as they currently lead the league table in Italy.
PSG reacts to Lookman’s POTY win
Earlier, Henzodaily.ng reported that Paris Saint-Germain released a statement following Lookman’s CAF Player of the Year win ahead of their defender Hakimi.
The Parisians extolled the Moroccan defender despite losing the prestigious award despite being touted by many in his homeland as the favourite to cart away the honour.
Hakimi was named among the five finalists for the award and was also named in CAF’s Best Eleven at the awards ceremony on Monday night.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng