Bayern Munich’s Muslim star, Sadio Mane has been named African Footballer of Year after a season that saw him winning Senegal’s first Africa Cup of Nations title and securing the World Cup qualification.
Mane won the 2022 African Player of the Year prize ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at the Caf Awards ceremony in Rabat on Thursday.
“I am really honored and highly delighted to receive this award again,” Mane said on Thursday, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
📚 Read Also: Sadio Mane Leads Senegal to First AFCON Title
“Thanks to my coaches, my club and national team colleagues and those friends who stood by me during difficult times.”
“I dedicate this award to the youth of Senegal. I’m very emotional and don’t have the words to express how I’m feeling,” he added.
Super Star
This is the second African Player of the Year award for the Senegal international who won the award for the first time in 2019 while he was at English side Liverpool.
The 30-year-old forward player moved to the Bundesliga after signing a three-year deal with German giants Bayern Munich last month.
Mané, 30, is the captain of the Muslim West African country of Senegal. Mané finished fourth for the 2019 Ballon d’Or, and in the award for the Best FIFA Men’s Player he ranked fifth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.
Sadio is also known off the pitch as a philanthropist. Last year, he donated £500,000 ($638,207, €561,987) towards the construction of a hospital in Banbali. Earlier, in 2019, he donated £250,000 ($319,103, €284,813) to build a school in his home town of Banbali, Senegal.