Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been named the Confederation of African Football’s Player of the Year for second year in a row – during the award ceremony in Dakar, Senegal on Tuesday night.
Salah defeated his Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to top the poll.
The annual award is decided by a voting panel made up of national team coaches and captains, in addition to a selection of journalists and officials.
Salah won the Golden Boot for the 2017-18 Premier League season after scoring 32 goals in 36 appearances to set a record for most goals scored by a player in the modern league. Beating Harry Kane, Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Leroy Sane, and David de Gea, in the vote by Premier League players.
He also was named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year 2018 in England. He became the first Egyptian footballer to win the PFA prestigious award.
On the national side, Salah fueled national sentiment as Egypt got to hear its first world games start-whistle in 28 years, as he scored a penalty in the injured-time to qualify Egypt for Russia’s World Cup after beating Congo 2-1.
The Reds striker has so far scored 13 Premier League goals for the Reds this season.
Salah moved to Chelsea from Basel in Switzerland in 2013, he quickly became unhappy with being with Chelsea, the club lent Salah to Italian outfits Fiorentina and Roma, then sold him to the latter club. Salah blossomed in Rome, averaging close to a goal every two matches, and Liverpool paid almost 37 million pounds (about $47 mn/41 mn euros) to sign him two years ago.
