Sadio Mane has become the 10th player to win the African Footballer of the Year award more than once.
The Senegal captain was announced the 2022 winner at the Confederation of African Football awards ceremony in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday.
Mane was in Morocco to collect his award, less than 24 hours after making his Bayern Munich debut in the United States.
Mane topped the vote ahead of former Liverpool teammate Mo Salah and Chelsea’s Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Salah was the standout player in England’s Premier League last season, winning the Golden Boot with 23 goals and topping the assists chart with 13.
But Mane, who left Liverpool to sign for Bayern in June, twice got the better of Salah at international level.
Mane’s Senegal beat Salah’s Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations final in February and in a World Cup qualification play-off in March.
Mane is the sixth player to be named African Footballer of the Year on exactly two occasions. The others are Salah, Didier Drogba, Roger Milla, Nwankwo Kanu and El Hadji Diouf.
George Weah and Abedi Pele are both three-time winners, while Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure have won the award four times each.
In the women category, Super Falcons and Barcelona striker, was crowned 2022 CAF women’s ‘Player of the Year.’
The 27-year-old was announced the winner in the gala held in Rabat, Morrocco, on Thursday.
This is her fifth time winning the award — surpassing Perpetua Nkwocha, former Falcons striker.
Oshoala had won the best African female football in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.