Algeria and Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez has been crowned the winner of this year’s BBC African Footballer of the Year award.

The 25-year-old has now won the award for the very first time his exploits for the Foxes during their Premier League winning season.

The BBC’s Peter Okwoche announced Mahrez as the winner of the trophy during a special presentation within today’s Focus on Africa programme on BBC World Service and BBC World News.

The Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri joined Okwoche to present this prestigious award Mahrez with the coveted trophy at the club’s training ground.

Mahrez emerged as the most popular player on the shortlist which included the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew, Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure.

The Algerian international insists that he is delighted and hourned to have won such a prestigious award but he stay grounded by insisting that he will keep working hard to improve his performance.

‘It means a lot, it’s something big for African players so I am very happy, I am very proud. It’s always good to receive awards and for African players, it’s a huge honour. To all the fans, thank you very much. I just have to carry on and keep going with my football and see what I can do,’ Mahrez said.

Previous winners of the award include the likes of Yaya Toure (2015), Yacine Brahimi (2014), Yaya Toure (2013), Christopher Katongo (2012), and Andre Ayew (2011).