Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was named the African Player of the Year on Thursday, finishing ahead of Senegal attacker and Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Salah had a year to remember for club and country in 2017, establishing himself as one of the most effective attackers in Serie A, as club side AS Roma finished second to Juventus in Italy, before moving to Premier League side Liverpool in the summer transfer window.
The 25-year-old settled right away on Merseyside and is the club's top scorer in all competitions in the 2017-18 season with 23 goals.
Salah also played a pivotal role as the Pharoahs qualified for the 2018 World Cup for the first time since 1990, including a dramatic 95th-minute winner against Congo in their penultimate qualifying match.
"Winning this award is a dream come true," Salah said after receiving the award. "I want delicate this award to the kids in Egypt and Africa. I want to tell them that never stop dreaming."
The awards ceremony in Ghana's capital, Accra, proved a successful one for Egypt, after the Pharoahs was named the national team of the year, and Hector Cuper was named coach of the year.
🙌 Congratulations, Mo! 🙌@22mosalah has been named CAF African Player of the Year for 2017. 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/j1i0DOUuH2
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 4, 2018
The Awards winners in full:
Men's Player of the Year: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Women's Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dalian Quanjian)
Youth Player of the Year Patson Daka (Zambia)
Coach of the Year Hector Cuper (Egypt)
Club of the Year: Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
National Team of the Year: Egypt
Women's National Team of the Year: South Africa
Football Leader of the Year: Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania)
Legends Award: Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana)