The nominees for Globe Soccer 2016 Best Arab Player have been announced with Mohamed Salah of Egypt, Morocco’s Medhi Benatia and Algerian Riyad Mahrez all up for the award.
Benatia, 29, won the award in 2014 and is back in contention after impressing while on-loan at Juventus from German giants Bayern Munich.
The Morocco captain is one of two players in the frame currently plying their trade in Italy’s Serie A.
AS Roma’s Egyptian forward Salah has been a player reborn since moving from Premier League side Chelsea, finding a home in Rome.
Salah has achieved plenty of awards and trophies in his short career so far, winning the Swiss Super League with Basel and named the most promising talent of the African Football Confederation (CAF) in 2012. A year later, he was the recipient of the SAFP Golden Player Award.
The nominees for 'Best Arab Player of the Year' #GlobeSoccer award presented by @Kooora, are @MedhiBenatia, @22mosalah and @Mahrez22 pic.twitter.com/1caOngmVuz
— Globe Soccer Awards (@Globe_Soccer) December 2, 2016
Meanwhile, Mahrez too is a strong competitor for the award after the Algerian midfielder scored 17 goals for his club last season as Leicester sealed the most unlikely of Premier League titles.
His exceptional season also earned him a place in the list of 23 candidates for the FIFA Ballon d’Or, alongside the likes of Gareth Bale, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mahrez claimed last season’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year and is the heavy favourite to win the Best Arab Player award too.
The winners will be announced at the Globe Soccer Gala Awards on the evening of December 27th at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
