Osimhen sees off challenges from Liverpool and PSG stars to land African football's biggest individual prize

Napoli star and Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has seen off challenges from Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and PSG fullback Achraf Hakimi to win African football's biggest individual prize - the CAF Men's Player of the Year.

It has been a successful year for  Osimhen, who helped Napoli to the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years, registering 31 goal involvements(26 goals, 5 assists).

This laid the platform for him to finish 8th in the Ballon d'Or ranking, the highest of any African player, win Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) Footballer of the Year, Serie A Best Striker and the Capocannoniere which is now known as the Paolo Rossi Award, meant for the top scorer in the Serie A.
 

The former Lille forward also did well for the Super Eagles in the year, having played a vital role in helping the three-time African champions qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, finishing as the top scorer in the qualification series with 10 goals.

 The Napoli ace becomes the first Nigerian to win the award since 1999 and the fifth to do so; Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Amuneke, Rashidi Yekini and Victor Ikeba being the others.

Presently, he is in the running for the 2023 Globe Soccer Awards Best Men's Player and the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) Men's World Best Player.

Osimhen is expected to fly back to Naples tonight ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash between Napoli and Sporting de Braga at the Diego Maradona Stadium.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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