With it being announced that the CAF Awards will be reintroduced in 2022, here are six frontrunners for this year's CAF Men's Player of the Year accolade.
Click through the gallery above to see six potential frontrunners for the 2022 CAF Men's Player of the Year prize!
On 21 July, the world will know who the best African footballer for the 2021/22 season was as African football's governing body prepares to host the CAF Awards in Morocco.
The awards ceremony had been on a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic but will now return, with the prestigious Men's Player of the Year prize perhaps set for a new winner... or perhaps not.
The previous victor was Sadio Mane in 2019, and the Senegal forward is in contention to hold the prize aloft once again.
The 30-year-old was in sublime form this past campaign as his 23 goals across all competitions helped Liverpool capture FA Cup and League Cup honours.
The forward, who looks set to join Bayern Munich in the coming days, also became the all-time leading goalscorer for Senegal during the team's recent 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin, and also helped lead his nation to the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in Cameroon earlier this year.
The former Southampton star will, however, face stiff competition from his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian once again enjoyed a tremendously prolific season at Anfield.
The 30-year-old finished the 2021/22 Premier League season as the division's top goalscorer and assist provider, only the second-ever African to accomplish this feat in the English top flight after Didier Drogba did it in the 2009/10 campaign, while he also helped guide the Pharaohs to the final of AFCON 2021.
With his offensive output also earning him the 2022 PFA Players' Player of the Year honours, the winger will perhaps be hoping he can draw level with George Weah and Abedi Pele by winning a third African Player of the Year award.
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Another player who is also in the running to be considered Africa's best player from last season is Victor Osimhen. Although the Super Eagles striker missed the AFCON earlier this year due to a cheekbone fracture, the 23-year-old once again proved his goalscoring prowess in Serie A and in Europe.
The Nigerian found the back of the net 18 times in 32 games for Napoli this past season, and has garnered some tremendous attention from Europe's biggest clubs as a result.
Younger than the likes of Mane and Salah, should Osimhen lose out on the 2022 prize, there will be ample time for the former Lille attacker to become the first Nigerian since Nwankwo Kanu to win the accolade in the years to come.
You can see more contenders for the big prize in the gallery above!
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