Mane, Salah among African Player of the Year contenders
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed on Monday that former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are among the ten athletes shortlisted for the 2022 African Player of the Year award.
The winner of the 2022 competition will be named on July 21 at a ceremony in Rabat after the Covid pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions.
In 2017 and 2018, Mohamed Salah took home the prize, while Mané was recognized in 2019. The 30-year-old Senegalese, who last month switched from Liverpool to Bayern Munich, is the front-runner for the 2022 prize.
He played a significant role in Senegal's historic first-ever victory over Salah's Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations final. He additionally assisted his nation in defeating the Pharaohs to win a spot in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
The Senegalese and the Egyptian played with the Reds, winning the English Cup, the League Cup, and competing in the Champions League final, which Real Madrid won.
Riyad Mahrez, the Algerian captain and Manchester City winger who won the title in 2016, is one of the other candidates for the African Player of the Year award in 2022. Edouard Mendy of Senegal and Chelsea will try to become the first goalkeeper to win the title since Ezzaki Badou of Morocco in 1986.
The CAF technical committee, select journalists, and the captains and coaches of the African national teams vote to determine the African Player of the Year.
The other eight candidates for the African Player of the Year honor are:
(Manchester City, Algerian) Riyad Mahrez
Ekambi Karl Toko (Lyon, France; Cameroon)
Cameroonian, Al Nassr/KSA citizen Vincent Aboubacar
Ivory Coast native and Borussia Dortmund player Sébastien Haller
Nigerian-born Naby Keita (Liverpool/EGY)
Morocco's Achraf Hakimi plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France.
Karim Benzema’s most ideal backup wants to stay at Real Madrid
Being Thibaut Courtois' or even Karim Benzema's backup at Real Madrid is not something to look forward to. You won't play very often, and when you do, you probably won't be match fit, and if you aren't, you won't do very well.Andriy Lunin did pick up some steam and performed admirably whenever he was on the field, but Mariano and Jovic, the latter of whom was forced to quit the team this summer in pursuit of more playing time, can't say the same.
When Benzema is absent, it would be acceptable to have Rodrygo or Eden Hazard fill in as the striker, but to be completely honest, Borja Mayoral doesn't sound like a bad idea either. In some ways, he and Benzema are very similar. He can press effectively and occasionally even scores a goal or two.
Mayoral wants to stay at the club, but Mario Cortegana claims the club wants to earn 10 million euros for his sale.
Borja Mayoral of Real Madrid is a player who Getafe, Bologna, and Celta are interested in acquiring.
Mayoral would naturally take up a second roster slot if he stayed. But if the Spaniard is actually willing to stay at the club, well, then giving him a shot wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, would it? It would give Benzema an actual backup.
Consider it, if you will. Mayoral has developed since his time at Real Madrid, and while I wasn't the biggest fan of him previously, it wouldn't be the worst idea to have him play a role that is comparable to what he enjoys doing the most.
It would be a good little test, and if he performs poorly, the club can attempt to dispose him later in the summer because at the moment the team
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