Ex-teammates Mane, Salah among African Player of the Year nominees
10 African players from several teams are eyeing the 2022 African Player of the Year award.
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Sadio Mane and Mohammad Salah (Getty Images)
Former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mohammad Salah are among 10 stars shortlisted for the 2022 African Player of the Year award, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Monday.
Salah won the award in 2017 and 2018 and Mane in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mane moved to Bayern Munich last month while Salah signed an extension to his contract at Anfield.
Playing key roles as Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time this year and qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could give Mane an extra push over Salah.
10x #CAFAwards2022 Player of the Year (Men) nominees! 🏆
— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 11, 2022
Which of them will be shortlisted? ✨ pic.twitter.com/qFi5Qb07Gq
Another contender is 2016 African Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez, Algeria's captain and Manchester City's winger.
In the same context, Senegal and Chelsea's Edouard Mendy is hoping to become the first goalkeeper to lift the trophy since Moroccan Ezzaki Badou in 1986.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Rabat on July 21 after the captains and coaches of African national teams, CAF technical committee members, and selected media vote.
The African Player of the Year nominees are the following:
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City/ENG), Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon, Lyon/FRA), Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon, Al Nassr/KSA), Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast, Borussia Dortmund/GER), Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool/ENG), Naby Keita (Guinea, Liverpool/EGY), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Edouard Mendy (Senegal, Chelsea/ENG), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal, Napoli/ITA), Sadio Mane (Senegal, Bayern Munich/GER)
