Former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amunike has cleared the air by explaining his mention of Mohamed Salah in the aftermath of the 2023 CAF Awards on Monday night where Victor Osimhen was awarded the Men’s Player of the Year.
The Napoli star edged past Achraf Hakimi and Salah as the first Nigerian to win the prestigious award since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
There was however outrage by Nigerians on social media in a video posted by CAF where Amunike mentioned Salah as his pick for the Player of the Year. In a bid to quench the outrage felt, the former Barcelona player stated that it was in the legends novelty prior to the awards he was asked the question. He also clarified that he was asked to pick between Salah and Hakimi and that he was not selected to vote for Osimhen.
The CAF legends having their pick for the African Player of the Year! ????????
El Hadji Diouf’s got a surprising pick ????#CAFAwards2023 | @Visit_Morocco_ | @RAM_Maroc pic.twitter.com/5rScMaNGMv
— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 11, 2023
“First of all, I was never elected to vote [For Osimhen],” Amunike told to the press.
“Secondly, in the novelty game we played in Marrakech, a former player and captain of the Egyptian national team who is preparing himself to become a TV producer in Egypt, was debating on Arabian teams and players.
“They raised the question between Hakimi and Salah and at no time was Osimhen mentioned in that discussion. They came to me and asked my choice and I said Salah.
“The reason why I said Salah was because I played and lived in Egypt and I know some of the players that were there. So there is nothing about me voting against Osimhen. He’s our player, he’s our boy. We are happy with what he has achieved and we hope and continue to dream that he will achieve more for the betterment of his career and Nigeria.”
Amunike and Osimhen have a strong history together, the former managing the Golden Eaglets to ultimate glory at the 2015 U-17 FIFA World Cup in Chile where the latter finished as top scorer with 10 goals.
