Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah beat off competition from Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Naby Keita and Victor Moses to be crowned 2017 BBC African Footballer of the Year.

Salah has been a breath of fresh air for Jurgen Klopp’s side since completing his move from AS Roma as the former Chelsea man has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, with 13 in the Premier League.

His inspired performances set him at No 1 on the top-scorers chart in the League and Salah hopes to win next year’s player award as well.

‘I’m very happy to win this award, it’s a special feeling for me,’ he told BBC.

‘I’d like to thank everybody, my teammates and the people I work with. I am very happy here at the club, I’ve had a very good start here. Also the manager has helped me to settle into the team.

‘Last season I had a very good season with Roma, so I need to thank my teammates [there] and also my teammates in the national team.

‘The people I work with are very professional and I’m happy with them.

‘I’d also like to win it [the award] next year!’ he added.

In addition to his debut season heroics with Liverpool, Salah managed to secure The Pharaohs’ first World Cup spot since 1990.

Klopp praised Salah, saying that the accolade is well-deserved.

‘It’s a fantastic prize for a pretty good player!

‘I am a really lucky person because I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few fantastic, outstandingly good players – and now I am happy I have it with Mo.

‘When I started as a manager, he was a kid and nobody could have imagined that we would work together.

‘The good thing with him is he is still young, there is a lot of space for improvement and still a lot of potential for us to work on, but that’s how it should be.

‘It is a big pleasure to work with him and the other guys together. On a good day, we make it easy for each other because that’s how football should be,’ he concluded.

-This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za