President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has commended Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman for securing the 14th spot in this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, unveiled at the ceremony in Paris on Monday night.
Though the prestigious award went to Manchester City’s Rodri, Gusau, in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday, remains confident that Lookman has the potential to climb even higher in future editions.
“The NFF commends Ademola Lookman for this remarkable achievement. We believe he has the potential to finish much higher next year. As the only African on the 30-man shortlist and the second highest-rated player from Serie A, Lookman has already achieved something significant,” he stated.
Lookman’s standout performances, according to him, have earned him widespread recognition.
He scored three vital goals for Nigeria during the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, leading the Super Eagles to a second-place finish.
His club success was equally impressive, with Lookman netting all three goals in Atalanta’s Europa Cup final victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Since this season got underway, Lookman has continued to deliver for both club and country, with two goals in Nigeria’s 2025 AFCON qualifiers, while two other goals were controversially disallowed.
His form has not gone unnoticed.
Many football analysts predicted that Lookman would claim this year’s African Player of the Year award.
NFF President Gusau commends Ademola Lookman for Ballon d’Or ranking
