Sadio Mane won the 2022 African Footballer of the Year award on Thursday ahead of former Liverpool teammate Mo Salah, who came second in the vote.

Despite both playing for Liverpool last season, Mane and Salah went head to head multiple times in 2022.

Mane came out on top in those crucial duels... but only just.

His Senegal side beat Egypt on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations and then prevailed in another spot-kick shootout to qualify for the FIFA World Cup at the expense of Salah and Co.

As Africa's two top soccer stars, Mane and Salah have often been compared to one another, even a rivalry has been rumored.

But Mane has insisted that he has never considered Salah to be a rival and that he and the his ex-teammate have "good relations".