Salah to Retain Africa's Footballer of The Year: Diouf

El-Hadji Diouf, former Senegalese forward, predicted that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will retain African Player of the Year Award.

"Winning the title of Africa Cup of Nations will be an important step in determining who wins the African Player of the Year Award," Diouf said.

"For example, Croatia's qualification to World Cup Final leg gave Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić a chance to win Ballon d'Or award," the former Liverpool forward added.

"Three African footballers players have an outstanding presence in the English primer league; Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will not take part in the upcoming AFCON," the legendary Senegalese forward noted.

"There is also Hakim Ziyech, who had a great season with Ajax scoring a lot of goals," he remarked.

"I foresee that these four players will compete for African Player of the Year Award," Diouf mentioned.

"If the Pharaohs manage to claim the 2019 title, that will serve the Egyptian football a lot," the legendary footballer exclaimed.

"The hosts are always the favorite to claim the trophy," he remarked.

It is worth mentioning that Egypt, pooled in group A alongside Uganda, Zimbabwe, and DR.Congo, is set to host the 2019 showpiece tournament from June 21 to 19 July.