Egypt's Salah wins 2017 CAF African Player of the Year award

Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah has been named the CAF African Player of the Year for 2017, with Senegalese attacker Sadio Mane in second place.

Both Liverpool strikers were named among the final three for the award, handed out by CAF, along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Salah, 25, came out on top after a stellar half-season with Liverpool, following on from a productive second half of the campaign with former club AS Roma.

The in-form striker replacing last year’s winner Riyad Mahrez caps off a stunning year for the Reds’ No. 11.

“Winning this award is a dream come true, 2017 was an unbelievable year for me,” Salah said after receiving the trophy.

In addition, Salah produced a vital contribution in Egypt’s World Cup qualifying campaign, guiding them to the finals in Russia with a succession of goal scoring performances.

Egypt manager Hector Cooper also picked up the Best Coach of the Year gong for qualifying them for the World Cup in Russia.

Mane was one of the Reds’ most important players last season and, while not quite hitting those heights so far in 17/18, has still found the back of the net eight times.

The Senegalese attacker has been named in the CAF Team of the Year for the past two years and his top-two finish solidifies his place as one of the Continent’s best.

Salah, for his part, was also in the 2016 Team of the Year, was named in the AFCON Team of the Tournament in 2017 and won the BBC African Player of the Year award last month.