Sadio Mane was named African Footballer of the Year for 2019 Tuesday after winning the Champions League with Liverpool and leading Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Mane, 27, wins the award for the first time after finishing runner-up to his Liverpool team mate Mohamed Salah of Egypt in 2017 and 2018.
He was third in 2016.
He is only the second Senegalese to win the award after El Hadji Diouf, who was the winner in 2001 and after joining Liverpool in 2002.
Mane finished ahead of Riyad Mahrez and Salah in a poll of national team coaches and captains, and was handed his award at the Confederation of African Football’s annual gala in Hurgada, Egypt.
Sadio Mané is crowned African Player of the Year for the first time in his career:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 7, 2020
• 63 games
• 35 goals
• 11 assists
• 3 trophies
2019 was an incredible year. ?? pic.twitter.com/UqD0kfr7Am
It is the second successive year that the top three are all from English clubs and only the third time since the award was introduced that the leading trio all play in the same league.
In 1991, the top three all came from French clubs.
Mahrez, 28, captained Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations success in July and won the Premier League with Manchester City.
He was African Footballer of the Year in 2016.
