The Confederation of African Football has awarded the African Ballon d'Or to Sadio Mané. The Senegalese beat Mohamed Salah, his teammate, and Edouard Mendy, Senegalese compatriot and national teammate, in the voting. CAF announced the final winner at a gala event in the Moroccan city of Rabat.
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Mané was the favorite to win the award after equaling Salah in titles with his club and beating the Egyptian in the final of the Africa Cup. Both players have been key in the schemes employed by Jurgen Klopp during his time at Liverpool.
Both players are League Cup and FA Cup winners with the ‘Reds’. They are also runners-up in the European Championship with Liverpool, after losing the final against Madrid in which neither of the two wingers could beat Thibaut Courtois in Paris, and runners-up in the Premier League, after losing the title to Manchester City on the last day of the season.
Sadio Mané had the advantage over the one who until a few months ago was his teammate of having beaten him in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022. Senegal snatched the title in the final of the tournament from Egypt in a penalty shootout, in which the third candidate, Edouard Mendy, was instrumental in winning the title for his team.
Mendy was not so lucky
However, despite being the first-choice goalkeeper for Tuchel's Chelsea for major competitions, the Senegalese goalkeeper has not been as lucky with his team as his competitors. Chelsea lost the League Cup and FA Cup finals against Mané and Salah's Liverpool, succumbed quickly in the Premier League after a good start to the championship and had to suffer one of Madrid's spectacular comebacks in the Champions League.
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