“Unbelievable” Liverpool star in line for huge award – faces competition from £70M star and Chelsea giant

Mohamed Salah is up for another award - this time it's the inaugural African Player of the Year award.

"Unbelievable" Salah will face strong competition from his former teammate Sadio Mane - who swapped Liverpool for Bayern Munich earlier in the transfer window.

The Confederation of African Football has not held its annual awards ceremony since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic.

The Confederation of African Football Awards will take place today (21st July) handing out a total of 12 awards.

Salah's season in review

Salah has enjoyed another successful season in which his Liverpool side won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup but narrowly missed out on the Premier League and Champions League.

However, his run of form before Christmas in the Premier League saw him declared as the 'world's best' in what was a scintillating start to the season.

His 51-goal contributions for Liverpool in 51 games were mesmerizing - a feat which saw him bag the Golden Boot and Playmaker Award in the Premier League.

However, he experienced heartbreak with Egypt as Mane's Senegal triumphed twice over Salah on penalties.

Senegal won both the African Cup of Nations and the final World Cup Qualifier, which saw them qualify for the Qatar World Cup at the end of the season.

Salah has won the award twice (2017 & 2018) but will look to dethrone the current winner in Mane, who won it in 2019.

The competition: Edouard Mendy and Sadio Mane

As mentioned, these two Senegal players have the edge when it comes to the international scene.

Winning the AFCON and qualifying for the World Cup will be viewed as colossal achievements which could tip Mane for the award.

Mendy had another great season for Chelsea but the Blues only secured the Club World Cup and European Super Cup alongside those two cup final losses to Liverpool.

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The new Bayern forward, whose move to the Bundesliga will cost around £70million with wages and transfer fees included, managed 23 goals and five assists in all competitions for Liverpool including five in the Champions League - all playing in a new position as a central striker for the Reds.

Another brilliant season for Mane, who in the second half of the season was the Reds' key man ahead of Salah alongside new signing Luis Diaz.

The second-half form coupled with the international achievements could see Mane get the edge over Salah for the award.