Achraf Hakimi voted the world’s best defender by FIFPRO

Achraf Hakimi has been named the world’s best defender after topping the FIFPRO vote for the 2025/2026 season.

The Morocco international, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, finished ahead of Spain and Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi. Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Nuno Mendes, of Portugal, was third.

Arsenal centre-back Gabriel came fourth, while his club colleague William Saliba took fifth place.

The remainder of the top 10 was made up of Marc Cucurella of Real, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, Cristian Romero of Atletico and Paris Saint-Germain defender Willian Pacho.

The results were published by FIFPRO, the International Federation of Professional Footballers’ Associations, following its vote to determine the leading defender in world football.