Sadio Mane Win African Player Of The Year award For Second Time

After a season in which he kicked the winning penalty for Senegal as they won their first Africa Cup of Nations championship and repeated the feat when they qualified for the World Cup, Sadio Mane was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday.

In the voting, Mane triumphed over fellow Senegalese Edouard Mendy and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah. Salah and Mendy were both former teammates at Liverpool.

The 30-year-old Mane, who joined German champions Bayern Munich last month, won the honor a second time.

He was the award’s final recipient for the year 2019. Since it was not maintained for the previous two years, the Confederation of African Football has switched to honoring achievements over the course of the season rather than the entire year.

Senegal defeated Egypt in the Cup of Nations final in Yaounde in February, and Mane scored the game-winning penalty to give his nation its first-ever African championship.

Six weeks later, Senegal defeated Egypt on penalties once more to advance to the World Cup finals in Qatar. He made the game-winning kick this time.

Although the two helped Liverpool win the FA Cup and League Cup and go to the Champions League final, he overshadowed Salah on both occasions.

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In the 2019 poll, Mane also came in first place, beating Salah. Salah, 30, took home the prize in both 2017 and 2018, with Mane coming in second.

I dedicate this honor to Senegalese youth. Mane, who had just arrived from Washington, DC, where he scored in a preseason friendly for his new club on Wednesday

He said to the crowd at the CAF awards in Rabat, I’m really emotional and don’t have the words to convey how I’m feeling.