Liverpool's Salah wins BBC African player of the year award
Egypt star Mohamed Salah won the prestigious BBC African Player of the Year award yesterday morning (Singapore time), rewarded for a 2017 packed with sparkling displays for Liverpool, Roma and his national team.
The 25-year-old topped a poll that saw a record number of votes cast.
He fired Egypt to the African Nations Cup final and almost single-handedly took his country to their first World Cup Finals since 1990, scoring five goals and setting up two in qualifying.
Salah, the Premier League top scorer with 13 goals, also scored 10 times in all competitions for Serie A club Roma in 2017 before moving to Merseyside.
"I am very happy to win this award," Salah told BBC Sport.
"It's always a special feeling when you win something. I feel like I had a great year, so I'm very happy."
Salah beat a star-studded cast of rivals to become the third Egyptian to win the award and first since Mohamed Aboutrika picked up the gong in 2008.
Gabon's Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Guinean Naby Keita - his future Liverpool teammate currently at RB Leipzig - fellow Reds star Sadio Mane of Senegal and Chelsea's Nigerian winger Victor Moses lost out to the pacy attacker, nicknamed the "Egyptian Messi".
Previous winners include Ivorian duo Didier Drogba (2009) and Yaya Toure (2013 and 2015) and Liberian striker George Weah (1995). - AFP
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