Former Liverpool team-mates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are on the updated 10-man shortlist for the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) Men’s Player of the Year award for 2021-22.
Mane, who joined German champions Bayern Munich last month, had the upper hand over Salah at international level this year.
Senegal beat Salah’s Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations final in February before winning their 2022 World Cup play-off tie the month after.
Mane is the last man to have been crowned Africa’s best, back in 2019. The awards have since been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, a Premier League winner with Manchester City, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita also remain after the initial 30-man long list was cut down.
Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar, who became the first player to score eight goals at a single Nations Cup in over half a century, Karl Toko Ekambi, Achraf Hakimi, Sebastien Haller and Kalidou Koulibaly complete the nominees.
At club level, forwards Mane and Salah, both 30, won the FA Cup and League Cup in England last season but narrowly missed out on the Premier League title when the Reds lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the European Champions League final.
Salah, who has claimed the Caf prize twice, ended the club season with a share of the Premier League Golden Boot, along with Tottenham Hotspur and South Korea striker Son Heung-min.
The Egyptian won domestic player of the season awards from the Football Writers’ Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Caf has also trimmed its lists for several other men’s categories, including Coach and Young Player of the Year – with Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri still in the running for the latter.
A panel of Caf legends, technical experts and journalists decided on the nominees, covering performances from September 2021 until June this year.
The nominees for the women’s awards were announced last week and all the winners will be named on 21 July.
Caf awards 2022 – Full list of nominees
Player of the Year (Men)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
- Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon & Lyon)
- Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Al Nassr)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool)
- Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast & Borussia Dortmund)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Paris St-Germain)
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal & Chelsea)
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Bayern Munich)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men)
- Tiago Azulao (Petro Atletico)
- Karim Konate (ASEC Mimosas)
- Aliou Dieng (Al Ahly)
- Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly)
- Percy Tau (Al Ahly)
- Mohamed Sherif (Al Ahly)
- Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly)
- Achraf Dari (Wydad Athletic Club)
- Yahya Jabrane (Wydad Athletic Club)
- Zouheir El Moutaraji (Wydad Athletic Club)
Young Player of the Year (Men)
- Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso & Lorient)
- Kamaldeen Sulemana (Ghana & Rennes)
- Karim Konate (Ivory Coast & ASEC/RB Salzburg)
- Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal & Metz)
- Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia & Manchester United)
Coach of the Year (Men)
- Carlos Queiroz (Egypt)
- Pitso Mosimane (Al Ahly)
- Tom Saintfiet (The Gambia)
- Walid Regragui (Wydad Athletic Club)
- Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
National Team of the Year
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Egypt
- Morocco
- Senegal
Club of the Year
- Petro Atletico (Angola)
- Al Ahly (Egypt)
- RS Berkane (Morocco)
- Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
- Orlando Pirates (South Africa)