Confirmed: Real Madrid duo Brahim Diaz, Yan Diomande nominated for 2026 CAF Awards

Confirmed: Real Madrid duo Brahim Diaz, Yan Diomande nominated for 2026 CAF Awards Real Madrid versatile attacker Brahim Diaz has been nominated for the 2026 Confederations of African Football (CAF) Player of the Year award. Meanwhile, the Merengues’ summer signing, Yan Diomande, finds himself nominated for the CAF Young Player of the Year prize for 2026. Brahim’s successful year earns nomination Brahim Diaz enjoyed a productive year with Real Madrid and the Moroccan national team, earning him a place in the final top-ten nominees for the CAF Player of the Year honour. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder ended the 2025/26 season with two goals and nine assists with Real Madrid, proving himself to be a very useful player despite having not been a regular starter. He was the star of the Moroccan national team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in a controversial manner, scoring five goals during the course of the tournament. Brahim also impressed with the national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, racking up four assists as Morocco made it to the quarter-finals. The Real Madrid star will battle it out against other top African players like PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo, Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and Al-Nassr’s Sadio Mane, among others, for the CAF Player of the Year prize. Diomande’s breakthrough season Meanwhile, Diomande also enjoyed a succesful campaign with RB Leipzig in 2025/26, which earned him a big-money transfer to Real Madrid during the summer, and has also led to a deserved nomination for the CAF Young Player of the Year award. The 19-year-old winger ended the 2025/26 season with 13 goals and ten assists from 36 appearances for RB Leipzig. He has already racked up four goals and assists apiece at Real Madrid from 14 matches this term. Diomande made five appearances for Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations, scoring one goal, while also impressing in his four appearances at the World Cup, with an assist to his name. Diomande, therefore, is a strong contender to win the 2026 CAF Young Player award. However, he will face competition from Barcelona’s Hamza Abdelkarim, Manchester City’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, Ibrahim Maza of Bayer Leverkusen among others.