By Victor Kanayo
After a stunning 2023/2024 season for both club and country, Super Eagles striker Ademola Lookman reached a Ballon d’Or Milestone in 2024, after ranking 14th overall best.
He was the only African who made the 30-man short list.
In 2023, his compatriot Victor Osimhen ranked eighth in the prestigious awards.
By far the most important asset for Italian Serie A side Atalanta BC last season, Lookman had 17 goals and provided 10 assists in all competitions, earning him the Player of the Year award at the Bergamo-based side.
In addition, his Europa League final hat-trick helped the Bergamo club to their first-ever Europa League trophy since they were founded 116 years ago.
This also made him the first ever African to net a treble in the final of the competition.
Apart from his performances with Atalanta, Ademola Lookman, 27, was also one of Nigeria’s standout performers at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, which was his first.
He scored three goals and provided an assist in the competition, propelling the Super Eagles to the final, which they lost to the host country.
Lookman’s season was one worthy of note as he dazzled on all fronts.
He is also primed to win the CAF African Player of the Year on December 16, 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco and succeed fellow Super Eagles star Osimhen.
