RABAT: Sadio Mane has been hailed as African Footballer of the Year for a second time by the continental confederation CAF.

The 30-year-old Senegalese forward thus obtaied the award for the second time in a row after receiving it in 2019, since it was not awarded in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mané, who joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool on June 21, converted in February the decisive penalty which brought Senegal the first African Cup in their history in 4-2 a shootout victory after a goalless extra-time draw against Mohamed Salah’s Egypt.

Six weeks later, in March, Mané again scored the decisive penalty that qualified Senegal for the 2022 World Cup – once more against Liverpool team-mate Salah’s Egypt.

In the CAF voting Mané finished ahead of Salah and his fellow Senegal star, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Along with Salah, Mané had also won the FA Cup and the League Cup in England with Liverpool and lost the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Mane also finished in the 2019 vote ahead of Salah, who won the award in 2017 and 2018 ahead of the Senegalese.

He told the gala in Rabat: “I dedicate this award to the youth of Senegal. I am very moved and I have no words to express how I feel.”

Mané had flown back to Rabat from Washington, where he scored in Bayern’s 6-2 pre-season friendly victory over DC United 6-2.

Senegalese coach Aliou Cissé was chosen as the best African coach in 2022.

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