Football

Osimhen beats Mahrez, Salah to African award

By Daudu John

June 27, 2023

Osimhen beats Mahrez, Salah to African award

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, has claimed the Best African Player award ahead of Treble winner Riyadh Mahrez and Mohammed Salah at the Ghana Football Awards, The PUNCH reports.

The 24-year-old registered 31 goals in all competitions last season to help Napoli win the Serie A title for the first time in over three decades.

The Super Eagles forward’s best season as a professional player has seen him scoop awards and break records, with his latest coming from the award ceremony in Ghana.

Osimhen, in a video online, thanked the organisers for the award and promised to make Africa proud.

The video was posted on the official Twitter account of the Ghana Football Awards.

“It is a great privilege for me to win this award, it’s really a great honour. Thank you to those who voted for me and the support. Major thanks to the organisers of Ghana Football Awards for their love and support also, I appreciate you all for this recognition.

“I will keep making Africa proud, thank you all and God bless you,” he said.

The former Lille striker scored 31 goals last season in all competitions for Napoli and helped his club to win the title after a 33-year hiatus.

He was also impactful for the Eagles, scoring twice as the Eagles beat Sierra Leone 3-2 to qualify for next year’s AFCON in Ivory Coast.

The striker’s brilliant season also saw him win the top scorer award with 26 goals and also went further to break the former World Player of the Year George Weah’s long-time record as the African with the highest number of goals in Serie A history.

He was awarded the best striker in the league and is also a strong candidate for the best player’s gong at this year’s CAF awards.