Football: Salah named African Player of the Year

By Mutlu Demirtastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Liverpool's Egyptian player Mohamed Salah has been named 2017's African Player of Year.

Salah grabbed the honors Thursday evening at the Confederation of African Football Awards in Ghana’s capital Accra.

The sensational striker beat his Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane and Borussia Dortmund's Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to win the award.

Salah had a great year, scoring 10 times for his former team Roma between January and May before being transferred to Liverpool in the summer.

He scored 24 times for his current team in 2017 and also played a vital role in his country's success, scoring the match-winning penalty against Congo in the 94th minute to secure Egypt's first World Cup showing since 1990.

The African Player of the Year award has been given to many successful players in its history, including Antalyaspor's Samuel Eto'o and Manchester City's Yaya Toure, who both won four times.