Mane received the award for best African player of 2019 some days ago. Some people may argue that he is worthy of the award and some may disagree. The competition of the best African player was between Mane and Mahrez. I will provide some arguments that may just prove that Mahrez would have been a more worthy recipient of the award. Sit back and enjoy my arguments.
Many people will bring up the argument that Mane won the UEFA Champions League, but ask yourself this question, is UEFA Champions League for Africa or Europe?? Apart from that, did he have any individual award? How many trophies did he win last year, compared to Mahrez??? If you are objective you will see where I'm heading to.
Mane won just one trophy last season which was the UEFA Champions League. Whereas, Mahrez won 4 trophies which includes the English Premier League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup and the most important for Africa, the African Nations Cup. From this point, is clear to say, Mahrez deserves to be the best African Player of the year.
Let's look at their personal involvement for team and country from each player. Let's start with Mahrez.
English Premier League 2018/2019 season
Mahrez
- Goals = 7
- Assists = 5
Mane
- Goals = 22
- Assists = 2
English Premier League 2019/2020 season
Mahrez
- Goals = 5
- Assists = 7
Mane
- Goals = 11
- Assists = 7
UEFA Champions League 2018/2019 season
Mahrez
- Goals = 1
- Assists = 5
Mane
- Goals = 4
- Assists = 2
UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 season
Mahrez
- Goals = 1
- Assists = 5
Mane
- Goals = 2
- Assists = 2
African Nations Cup
Mahrez
- Goals = 3
Mane
- Goals = 3
Domestic Cup(FA Cup & Carabao Cup) 2018/2019
Mahrez
- Goals = 4 (FA Cup = 2 & Carabao Cup = 2)
Mane
- Goals = 0
From the above details you can argue that Mane was a better player during 2019, based on his goals and assists.
But for me, I would have picked Mahrez because he won 4 trophies and because it was the year for African Nations Cup and he won it, he therefore deserves the award. Both players did very well last season.
Who would you have chosen. Drop your comments below.
Till Next Time Stay Safe.