CAF have announced the finalists for the African Player of the Year award and the list does not have Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on it.
The Egyptian superstar has won the accolade twice before in 2017 and 2018 as the winger hit the ground running following his move to Liverpool. The 32-year-old has not slowed down in the time since and remains one of the best players in the world at present – which Liverpool fans hope results in a new contract.
Salah produced 25 goals and 14 assists across 44 matches throughout the 2024/24 campaign for Liverpool, helping the Merseyside club to lift the Carabao Cup.
This season, the Egypt captain has upped his game again, with 16 goals and 12 assists within the 22 matches he has played so far.
Liverpool have two transfer targets lined up to replace Mohamed Salah
Many Liverpool fans will wonder how the 32-year-old has not been nominated for CAF’s African Player of the Year award, especially with the five finalists that have been named.
Fabrizio Romano has shared the names of the five finalists with Simon Adingra, Serhou Guirassy, Achraf Hakimi, Ademola Lookman and Ronwen Williams all in contention to be crowned the best player on their continent for 2024.
Although Salah had an exceptional season from an individual point of view, the winger could only lift the Carabao Cup with Liverpool, which would have had a big impact on his exclusion from the final five.
Lookman scored a hat-trick in the final of the Europa League to help Atalanta win their first European trophy, while Adingra starred in the African Cup of Nations.
The favourite will likely be current Borussia Dortmund forward Guirassy after his exceptional 2023/24 campaign with Stuttgart. The Guinea international produced 30 goals and three assists across 30 appearances for the German club, helping them to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga.
It was an incredible achievement for a player who failed to stand put before his move to Germany and it may see him crowned the 2024 African Player of the Year.
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