Riyad Mahrez Leicester CityGetty Images

Algeria & Manchester City star Mahrez describes Afcon win & PFA Award as most special career moments

Algeria and Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez has described winning the Africa Cup of Nations and the PFA Awards as the most special moments, collectively and individually, in his career.

Mahrez captained the Desert Foxes to the 2019 Afcon title in Egypt, scoring three goals, including a 95th-minute winner against Nigeria in the semi-finals, to send his team to the final, which Algeria won 1-0 against Senegal to claim the title for the first time since 1990.

Speaking to City’s in-house channel on the segment ‘Unfiltered with Riyad Mahrez’ the forward shared the stories behind his social media posts while highlighting the most important ones.

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“I like this one with the African Cup,” Mahrez said, when asked about his most liked post.

He added: “It was a special moment; the parade was unbelievable. You never see anything like this, so amazing.”

At club level, Mahrez regards the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, which he claimed after leading Leicester City to the 2015-16 Premier League title, as the one that makes him the happiest.

The Algerian scored 17 goals as the Foxes shocked the world to claim the title, becoming the first African to earn the accolade.

“PFA Player of the Year, I was happy. Individually, it is very good but you need your team-mates to achieve these things. So, it is an induvial [award] but collective thing as well,” he said.

Mahrez also shared about the biggest star he has ever met as well as that one place in the world which he visited and liked the experience the most.

“Ronaldo [Brazil legend], well, I know one friend who knows him and we were in Dubai and he said, come you can meet him, then I went. We had food together and we stayed together,” shared Mahrez about his post with the biggest star ever met.

About a post in a place that he liked? “Mykonos,” said Mahrez about the Greek island favoured by footballers during the summer holidays.

“I was there last year for the first time and I really liked it. I like everything about it. It was sunny, relaxing, the food was nice. It was very good,” he added.

The City forward revealed that his firfirst-everst is about French side Le Havre which shaped his playing career.

“Le Havre was very good. It was a good club, for my formation and I improved a lot as a footballer and as a human as well.”

Mahrez started his career at Le Havre in 2010 where he spent five-and-a-half years before joining Leicester City for just £450,000 in January 2014.

He would spend five years with the Foxes where he established himself as a world-class player, scoring 48 goals in 179 games, before he switched to City in July 2018 for £60m which made him the most expensive African player.

Mahrez, who was City’s top scorer last season with 24 goals in all competitions, has won three Premier League crowns in four years at the Etihad Stadium, while scoring 63 goals in 189 matches.

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