Rabat (Morocco): Senegal’s Bayern Munich superstar Sadio Manek won the African Footballer of the Year award. Mane finished ahead of Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah and Chelsea’s Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. He has won the award for the second time in a row. Sadio Mane is the 10th player to win the award multiple times.
The Senegal captain was announced as the 2022 winner at the Confederation of African Football’s awards ceremony in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday. The star arrived in Morocco to accept the award less than 24 hours after leaving Liverpool and making his debut at German giants Bayern Munich.
Sadio Mane played a crucial role in helping Senegal qualify for the World Cup and African Nations Cup winners. Salah was the best player in England’s Premier League last season, winning the Golden Boot with 23 goals and topped the assist chart with 13 goals.
Mendy also played a key role in Senegal’s African Cup of Nations win with Chelsea in February as well as winning the Club World Cup. The 30-year-old is the first goalkeeper to finish in the top three of the African Footballer of the Year poll since Vincent Enyeama finished third in 2014.
Samuel Eto’u and Yaya Toure have won the African Footballer of the Year award four times each and George Weah and Abedi Pele three times. Apart from Mane, Mohamed Salah, Didier Drogba, Roger Milla, Nwanko Kanu and El Haji Diouf have won the award twice each.