Egypt’s Salah named African Footballer of the Year
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Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was named African Footballer of the Year for 2017 on
Thursday, finishing ahead of his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Salah, 25, polled 625 points from a voting panel made up of national team
coaches and captains, plus a selection of officials and journalists, to win the
award.
Mane finished second on 507 with Aubameyang third on 311.
Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah attends a media briefing on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards ceremony. /VCG Photo
Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah attends a media briefing on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards ceremony. /VCG Photo
Salah helped Egypt reach the African Nations Cup final and qualify for this
year's World Cup.
He also made an African record move to Liverpool and scored 23 goals in all
competitions for the Premier League club in 2017.
"This is a dream come true for me. 2017 was an unbelievable year for me with the
Egypt national team and my clubs. To qualify to the World Cup after 28 years and
to have a great season at Roma and Liverpool were special moments in my career,"
Salah said at the Confederation of African Football awards.
Salah is the second Egyptian to win the award after Mahmoud Al Khatib in
1983.
Salah and Mane were due to fly straight back to Liverpool by charter jet after
Thursday's ceremony, which finished at 2200 GMT. Liverpool play local rivals
Everton in the FA Cup third round on Friday.