RABAT (Reuters) - Sadio Mane was named African Footballer of Year on Thursday after a season in which he kicked the winning penalty for Senegal as they claimed their first Africa Cup of Nations title and repeated the feat when they secured World Cup qualification.
Mane finished ahead of Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, his former Liverpool team mate, and fellow Senegalese Edouard Mendy in the voting.
He was the last winner of the award in 2019. The Confederation of African Football did not hold it over of the last two years and has now changed to recognising accomplishments over the season rather than the calendar year. Six weeks later, he struck the decisive spot-kick as Senegal again edged Egypt in a penalty shootout to win a place at the World Cup finals in Qatar.
Mane also finished ahead of Salah in the 2019 voting. Salah, 30, won the award in 2017 and 2018 with Mane second on both occasions.