12 Things You Didn’t Know About The 5 African Player Of The Year Hopefuls

The African Player of the Year shortlist was recently reduced to a selection of the top five nominees for the 2016 award.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the five players, choosing them from the original list of 30 players announced in October.

The five players still in the running for the award are Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund, Leicester City’s Algerian pair of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, Liverpool’s Senegalese striker Sadio Mane and Egyptian striker for Serie A side Roma, Mohamed Salah.

Below are 12 things you may not know about the five African Player of the Year nominees who remain in contention to win the award.

Sources: BBCSport, CAFOnline, Sport24.

One is the current holder of the award

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the current African Player of the Year, having won the award for 2015. The Gabon striker managed to secure the accolade at the expense of four-time African Player of the Year winner Yaya Toure and Ghanaian Andre Ayew.

Two of them are Ballon d’Or nominees

The shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award which recognises the best soccer player in the world was released in November, with Algerian Mahrez and Gabon’s Aubameyang included, though it appears that the prize will belong to either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, as usual.

Algeria can count on two nominees

The Fennec Foxes can be proud that two of their stars are represented among the five best players on the continent, according to CAF’s list of nominees. Slimani and Mahrez both feature on the final list, as Algerians who set the soccer world alight in 2016.

The English Premier League is well represented

Three of the five players on the final shortlist ply their trade in the English Premier League. Slimani and Mahrez play for current EPL champions Leicester City, while Mane is a striker for Merseyside club, Liverpool.

Some played for two clubs in 2016

Slimani represented Sporting Lisbon in Portugal last season, before transferring to English Premier League champions Leicester City in the recent market window. Mane was with Southampton before making his move to Liverpool in the European summer.

Slimani is the oldest player on the shortlist

At 28 years old, former Sporting striker Slimani is the oldest of the five players on the list, with Aubameyang turning 28 next year while Mahrez is 25, and both Mane and Salah are 24 years old.

All five will be at the 2017 AFCON

All five of the candidates for the 2016 African Player of the Year will be present in Gabon this January to fight for continental glory at the 2017 Nations Cup. Mane will do battle for Senegal, Salah with Egypt, Aubameyang will represent Gabon, while Slimani and Mahrez are Algeria’s best hope up front.

Salah no stranger to CAF awards

Mohamed Salah may be young, but this is not the first time the Roma player has been recognised by the African confederation, as in 2012 he was awarded the CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year accolade.

Two of the five born in Europe

While all five of the Player of the Year nominees are African and represent national teams from the continent, two of them were born in France. Aubameyang was born in Laval, while Mahrez’s place of birth is Sarcelles, also in France.

Slimani scored the most goals last season

Of the five players, Algerian international Slimani scored 27 goals in 33 Portuguese Primeira Liga appearances for Sporting Lisbon, making him the top scoring African in the general European standings, and number 14 on the overall list for last term.

Salah is the most prolific at national team level

While all of the talented players on this list have scored for their respective national teams, Salah is the most prolific of the five, with 27 goals scored for Egypt in 45 appearances. Mane has 10 goals for Senegal, Slimani and Mahrez have 23 and six goals respectively for Algeria, while Aubameyang has managed 21 strikes for his beloved Gabon.

Aubameyang first ever African Bundesliga Player of the Year

In 2016 Aubameyang was crowned as the Bundesliga Player of the Year, becoming the first African to secure the prestigious prize for the best performer in the German top-flight. The Dortmund striker beat Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski by 0,2% of the vote.