Mohamed Salah beaten by ex-Liverpool teammate for prestigious award

Sadio Mane pips Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to the CAF Footballer of the Year title

Sadio Mane has been crowned the African Player of the Year as Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah missed out on the award to the Senegalese once again via the Metro.

Even in the last edition of the prestigious honour in 2019, Mane beat the Egyptian. Salah and the former Red now each have two CAF Footballer of the Year titles to their names.

Mane’s Senegalese teammate Edouard Mendy was also one of the nominees. The duo were part of the team that beat Egypt in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. The two teams were also involved in the World Cup playoffs as the Lions of Teranga beat the Pharaohs for a berth in Qatar.

Liverpool have been one of the best sides in the world over the past few years. Mane and Salah have been a big part of that success. While the Senegalese was a crucial member of the team, the Egyptian’s numbers were better.

Last season playing for the Reds, Mane scored 23 goals

and provided five assists, while Salah scored 31 goals and provided 16 assists. They both featured in 51 games in a season that saw Liverpool go almost all the way in their quest for a quadruple.

Going by the numbers, Salah was definitely the best player for the Merseysiders last season. But Mane was equally important to the success in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

While stats don’t always tell the full picture, fans who saw him play last season felt the Egyptian was on a different level in the first half of the campaign.

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Maybe the triumph in the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers gave Mane the upper hand against his former teammate. But Liverpool fans won’t be worried one bit. The Senegalese was one of our very own until this summer and his win is ours as well.