After an XXL season, Sadio Mané won again the trophy of the best African player of the year during the CAF Awards 2022.
He had insisted on attending the ceremony while Bayern Munich did not want to see him leave the preseason training camp in Washington. And this determination was to give the spectators a small clue about the winner since the other two finalists Mohamed Salah and his compatriot Edouard Mendy did not come.
This Thursday evening, at the Mohammed VI Technical Center, the 30-year-old star won his second trophy of the best African player of the year in his career (after 2019). Three years therefore between the first and second award, but it is well with the status of “titleholder” that Sadio Mané was presented before the public. Because after 2019, the next two editions had been canceled because of the health crisis. If Edouard Mendy certainly deserved the award last season with his success in the Champions League, this year, no one could steal the distinction from Sadio Mané.
The title with Senegal, the ultimate title
But this new title is above all a reward for the CAN won by Senegal. Author of the winning penalty in the final, Sadio Mané has not stopped carrying his team in the competition. His 3 goals and 2 assists, but also his mentality as when he unlocked the situation against Cape Verde in the round of 16 while he suffered a slight head injury after a violent shock.
The icing on the cake, Sadio Mané also offered the qualification to the World Cup 2022 by converting the decisive penalty during the playoffs against Egypt of Mohammed Salah. The Egyptian finished second in these CAF Awards 2022.
“I am very honored to be present at this ceremony here for the fifth time in a row. I want to thank our president and my coach Aliou Cisse without forgetting my teammates in club and selection but also my family since Bambali, my friends and my relatives. I don’t even have the words tonight”, he said when he received his trophy, before continuing in the press conference. “Because they are all behind me since the beginning and even more since the victory at the CAN and the qualification for the World Cup. Thanks to them. I say a big thank you to them as well as to the Senegalese journalists present in the room.
