Achraf Hakimi has undoubtedly been one of the stand-out stars of the World Cup as he and his Morocco teammates played their way to the semi-final stage.
They knocked Portugal out at the quarter-final stage and play France in the semi-final on Wednesday night. Their passage to the final would be one of the biggest World Cup shocks.
Leading the underdogs to glory has been Paris Saint-Germain superstar Hakimi - the 24-year-old demonstrating defensive steel alongside his trademark surging runs on the right flank.
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But while his performances have captured the imagination and hearts of fans from across the Arab world and beyond, many will be unfamiliar with his wife - Hiba Abouk.
Hakimi was born in Madrid after his parents left a humble life in Morocco in search of better opportunities in Spain. He was scouted for Real Madrid aged seven while playing for his local team CD Colonia Ofigevi.
The right-back’s career really took off during his two-year loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, before a £35million move to Inter Milan where he won Serie A in his first season. And it was while in Germany in 2018 that he met his stunning wife.
Abouk, 36, is a gorgeous actress of Tunisian and Libyan descent who was also born in Madrid. She starred alongside the footballer on the cover of Vogue Arabia in October.
They married two years after meeting in 2020. Hakimi, now 24, welcomed a son named Amin that year and another boy this year.
Yet his brunette wife was already a star across various television series when they met and claims the pair’s relationship blossomed from a mutual sense of admiration and respect - what they “represent for Arab culture”.
The early days of their romance was said to be made up of continuous long distance travelling across Europe while Hakimi was in Germany, before Abouk eventually relocated to Dortmund.
They now live together in Paris - the city where they met - and where the footballer plays alongside his best friend and semi-final rival Kylian Mbappe.
Hakimi faces the monumental task of keeping his pal quiet on Wednesday after the reigning world champions narrowly edged past England with a 2-1 victory. Mbappe, who congratulated Morocco and Hakimi for their result against Portugal, is currently the tournament's top scorer with five goals.
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