CAF recently announced the final nominees for the 2023 Men's Player of the Year award, and while there may be 10 remaining, we decided to take a look at who three serious contenders for the gong will be come 11 December.
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In a matter of weeks, Africa will know which of its superstar talents will be crowned this year's best footballer. Reigning winner Sadio Mane has been named among the final nominees and could possibly win the award for the third time, but following a disastrous end to his spell at Bayern Munich coupled with his move to Saudi Arabian giants Al Nassr, there is a strong likelihood that the Senegal talisman will hand the title a new name in 2023.
While the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winner is probably going to have to wait another year to capture his third CAF POTY prize, a former teammate of his could beat him to the accomplishment in the form of Mohamed Salah. While the west African's career may have curtailed since leaving Anfield in 2022, Salah has maintained his world-class standards for Liverpool.
In a much-changed Reds squad from the one he arrived at and the one he was so successful with, the Egypt international has continued to bang in the goals for Jurgen Klopp's side. During 2022/23 campaign, the Nagrig native was able to find the back of the net 30 times, while also providing 16 assists for the Merseyside club. Unfortunately for the dynamic winger, for the first time since his debut season with the EPL club, Liverpool failed to win any silverware as he also finished outside of the UEFA Champions League positions for the first time since joining.
This is likely something that will count against him as many of the other candidates have silverware to complement their individual performances throughout the aforementioned season, one of whom was Morocco's Achraf Hakimi. The right-back managed to score six goals and provide six assists as he helped Paris Saint-Germain extend their record of Ligue 1 titles to 11, and while the Madrid-born defender enjoyed a good campaign with Les Parisiens, it was his performances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup that undoubtedly captured the attention of the world.
The 25-year-old was an important cog in Walid Regragui's system as he, Hakim Ziyech and Azzedine Ounahi wreaked havoc against some of the world's best teams in the form of Belgium, Croatia, Spain and Portugal. The Atlas Lions made it all the way to the semi-finals, the first African outfit to make it that far. While Hakimi has been able to fulfil his role as the main protagonist in a quality Morocco side, any other year, the Real Madrid Castilla alumni would have likely been awarded the CAF Player of the Year prize, but this year, he will likely have to make way for another player.
Victor Osimhen is the man who has been massively tipped to be crowned the 2023 CAF African Men's Player of the Year. While the Lagos native did not enjoy the international success that Hakimi did, the Nigeria international showed that he can be regarded among the premier strikers in world football following his exploits with Napoli. The Super Eagle put the ball into the back of the net an impressive 31 times in 39 matches for Gli Azzurri, breaking a number of records along the way. His strikes helped the Neapolitans end a 33-year league title drought as Napoli were crowned Serie A champions, while they also went the furthest they have ever gone in the Champions League when they made it to the quarter-finals.
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Osimhen also finished ninth in the 2023 Ballon d'Or voting, the highest of any African footballer, and while he may have fallen short of that win, the anticipation is that he will become the first Nigerian since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999 to be crowned Africa's best player.
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