Sadio Mane and Sebastien Haller among final contenders for African Player of the Year
Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane and Borussia Dortmund counterpart Sebastien Haller are among the final contenders to be named African Player of the Year 2022.
Mane, who recently joined Bayern from Liverpool, is the current holder of the award, having been voted Africa’s best player when the honour was last bestowed in 2019.
And the 30-year-old is one of the frontrunners again as he looks to retain his title, having guided Senegal to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations success this year with three goals and two assists, plus the winning penalty in the final shootout against Egypt. The forward was also named Player of the Tournament.
He netted another winning penalty against the Pharaohs and ex-teammate Mo Salah only a month later to secure the Lions of Teranga their spot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And In June, he became Senegal’s all-time top scorer after a hat-trick against Benin in 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
All that was in addition to the 23 goals he scored in 51 games in 2021/22 for Liverpool as the club won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and finished runners-up in the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League before Mane opted to swap Merseyside for Munich.
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Haller is another new Bundesliga arrival also up for the award. The Ivory Coast international has joined Dortmund from Ajax on the back of a scintillating campaign for the Dutch champions where he netted 34 times in 43 games, including 11 in just eight Champions League outings – including twice against his new club.
The striker was also in AFCON action earlier in the year, starting all four games and scoring and assisting once each as Les Elephants reached the round of 16 before a shootout defeat to Egypt.
It’s the first time Haller features on the shortlist for Africa’s Player of the Year, which also includes ex-Bundesliga men Naby Keita and Achraf Hakimi. The only previous Bundesliga player to receive the award was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2015.
The 2022 winner will be announced at a ceremony in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday, 21 July. It has been confirmed that Mane is flying in after receiving permission from Bayern to leave their pre-season tour for the event.
You can find out if he wins by watching our live stream of the event from around 8pm CEST:
Full list of African Player of the Year final nominees:
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon & Lyon)
Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon & Al Nassr)
Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast & Ajax)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Paris Saint-Germain)
Edouard Mendy (Senegal & Chelsea)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli)
Sadio Mane (Senegal & Bayern Munich)
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