Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been voted African Footballer of the Year following his fine exploits for both club and country in 2017 at a classy ceremony at the Accra International Conference Center, Ghana on Thursday.
Salah, 25, beat Gabon skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scooped the prestigious accolade in 2015, into third place, with Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, taking the second spot.
This win means Salah has won the two biggest personal accolades for African footballers; the BBC Player of the Year and the CAF Player of the Year in the space of a month.
Salah’s heroics in 2017 have made him a worthy winner of the award especially after guiding Egypt to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Final in their first participation since the Pharaohs’ successful 2010 campaign.
Salah was joint-top scorer in the 2018 African World Cup Qualifiers after guiding Egypt to their first FIFA World Cup since 1990.
The former AS Roma star after joining Liverpool in the summer has so far bagged 23 goals for the Reds in just 29 appearances, five of them coming in the UEFA Champions and 17 in the Premier League.
In total, Salah netted 39 goals in 60 official games he played for both clubs and country in 2017.
Other Awards:
Platinum Award – Nana Akufo-Addo (President, Republic of Ghana)
Platinum Award – George Weah (President-Elect, Liberia)
CAF Legends Award – Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana & Asante Kotoko)
Football Leader of the Year – Yahya Ahmed (Mauritania)
Club of the Year – Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
Women’s National Team of the Year – Bayana Bayana (South Africa)
Coach of the Year – Hector Cuper (Egypt)
Youth Player of the Year – Patson Daka (Zambia)
Women’s Player of the Year – Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria)
Fans’ Finest XI
Goalkeeper: Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia & Etoile du Sahel)
Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly), Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United), Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
Midfielders: Mohamed Ounnajem (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club), Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord), Junior Ajayi (Nigeria
& Al Ahly), Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor), Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool), Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia &
Esperance)
Source: Starrsportsgh
