Salah and Mane

Liverpool pair Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, and Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City, were named as the three candidates for this year’s African Footballer of the Year award which will be decided on January 7, 2020.

The nominees were named on Sunday after being selected by a panel of technical experts from the Confederation of African Football as well as former players and media.

Mane is favoured for the award ahead of his Egyptian club mate, Salah after Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League and finished second in the English Premier League. However, he faces stiff opposition from Mahrez who won the English Premier League with Manchester City and also captained Algeria to win the Africa Cup of Nations in July.

The winner would be voted by coaches and captains of the 54 African national teams.

Salah has been African Footballer of the Year for the last two years while Mahrez was the winner in 2016. Mane was second runner-up in 2017 and first runner-up last year.