The annual African award winners to be announced in Rabat on Thursday, it will be a professional rivalry between former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. Mane was a crucial player in Senegal’s win over Egypt in the 2021/22 Africa Cup of Nations final and also in the 2022 World Cup play-off.
With continuous success to Senegal, Mane has become the favourite to win a second straight Player of the Year award after 2019, the 2020 and 2021 editions were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the question arises, will Mane win in the Moroccan capital, he will become the first Bayern Munich star to be voted the top African footballer.
Moreover, Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp calls the Senegalese “a complete forward”. “My only criticism of Sadio is that maybe at times he is the only one not to realise just how good he is.” the manager added.
Salah has lifted the award in 2017 and 2018, the Egyptian had an amazing 2021-22 season for the Liverpool, he jointly won the Golden Boot award with South Korea’s Son Heung-min of the Tottenham Hotspur.
The Egypt captain was also voted for the Premier League Player of the season by both the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Football Writers’ Association.
As far as the award is concerned, African football legends, CAF technical committee members, coaches and captains of national teams and of some clubs and selected media pick the winners.
