Why Mane deserved African Player of the Year award more than Salah - Msuva

Tanzania striker Simon Msuva has explained why Sadio Mane deserved the Caf African Player of the Year award more than his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah.

Mane was crowned on Tuesday after seeing off competition from Salah and Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City and Algeria. Msuva says reaching the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final gave Mane the advantage over Salah.

Salah and Egypt were eliminated in the Round of 16 by South Africa.

“[Sadio] Mane has had a successful year both at the club and at the national level. He helped Liverpool win the Uefa Champions League but you may argue even [Mo] Salah was pivotal in that campaign and that is correct but Mane helped Senegal reach Afcon finals,” Msuva, who is playing for Morocco's Difaa El Jadida told Mwanaspoti .

Senegal’s Minister of Youth and Sports Matar Ba also explained why his compatriot deserved to lift the award in Egypt.

“Sadio has fought his way to progress and to become the best player on the continent. He has always ground his teeth in the face of difficulties to move forward,” Ba told CafOnline .

“Faced with difficulties, he fought, last year, at home, he did not win but that did not prevent him from fighting to get this crown. This is the lesson that we must take from his coronation.”

When he joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016, Mane became the third Senegalese star to play for the Reds after El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao.

He also helped Jurgen Klopp's team win the Fifa Club World Cup and are well-positioned to win the Premier League title, a gong which has eluded Liverpool for the last 30 years.