Over the last two seasons, the free-kick duties at Paris Saint-Germain belonged to Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. However, both players left this summer transfer window. Now, who takes over? Achraf Hakimi has raised his hand.
Hakimi has taken free-kicks for the Morocco national team. Nonetheless, he might have learned a thing or two with the Argentine and Brazilian as his teammates. The 24-year-old scored a fantastic free-kick goal in PSG’s 4-0 win over Olympique de Marseille last Sunday.
With the free-kick job up for grabs, Culture PSG writes that perhaps Hakimi is the rightful heir apparent to Messi and Neymar.
“This is not the first time that the former Interista has shown all his quality on a free kick,” Culture PSG wrote. “If the one against OM is his very first registered at club and under the Parisian tunic, the native of Madrid has already placed three with the Moroccan national team …
🎯😍 Le coup franc magistral d’Hakimi !
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— Free Ligue 1 (@FreeLigue1) September 24, 2023
“After his return from the [Africa Cup of Nations] and these two nice goals, [former] Mauricio Pochettino had expressed the possibility of seeing Achraf Hakimi be designated first shooter despite the presence of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. in the squad.”
Hakimi will likely get a more extended look at taking free kicks when the opportunities occur during a match. Maybe the right-back won’t be as automatic as Messi has shown to be from a distance.
Still, having a player who can take advantage of those scoring chances is ideal, knowing what was lost with the 36-year-old’s exit.
