{"id":59246,"date":"2025-07-18T19:44:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T19:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/renard-champions-hakimi-as-true-ballon-dor-contender"},"modified":"2025-07-18T20:11:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T20:11:43","slug":"renard-champions-hakimi-as-true-ballon-dor-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/renard-champions-hakimi-as-true-ballon-dor-contender","title":{"rendered":"Renard Champions Hakimi as True Ballon d&#8217;Or Contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span><b>Herve\u0301 Renard, the Saudi Arabia national team coach, has made a bold statement in the ongoing Ballon d\u2019Or debate. While many pundits and fans focus on young talents like Ousmane Dembe\u0301le\u0301 and Lamine Yamal as frontrunners, Renard has thrown his support behind Achraf Hakimi. <\/b><\/p>\n<p>According to Herve\u0301 Renard, the Moroccan right-back stands out as the most deserving candidate this season.<\/p>\n<p>Renard praised Hakimi\u2019s exceptional consistency and decisive performances throughout the year. He highlighted Hakimi\u2019s influence on both club and country, noting how the player has been instrumental in key matches. For Renard, these qualities make Hakimi not just one of the best defenders in the world, but a legitimate contender for football\u2019s most prestigious individual award.<\/p>\n<p>This endorsement adds a new dimension to the Ballon d\u2019Or race, where offensive players often dominate the headlines. Renard\u2019s vote for Hakimi signals growing recognition of defenders who impact games beyond just defense. As the voting continues, Hakimi\u2019s chances could rise thanks to the backing of influential figures like the Saudi coach.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Lesotho<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. Herve\u0301 Renard, the Saudi Arabia national team coach, has made a bold statement in the ongoing Ballon d\u2019Or debate. While many pundits and fans focus on young talents like Ousmane Dembe\u0301le\u0301 and Lamine Yamal as frontrunners, Renard has thrown his support behind Achraf Hakimi. According to Herve\u0301 Renard, the Moroccan right-back stands [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":59245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-59246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Renard Champions Hakimi as True Ballon d&#039;Or Contender - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Herve\u0301 Renard, the Saudi Arabia national team coach, has made a bold statement in the ongoing Ballon d\u2019Or debate. 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