Former Ghana and Nigeria internationals Asamoah Gyan and Jay Jay Okocha have disclosed that Cameroon striker, Vincent Aboubakar deserved to be awarded the Best Player of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) instead of Liverpool and Senegal striker Sadio Mane.
Aboubakar scored eight goals in the competition for Cameroon as they clinched third place finish - beating Burkina Faso on penalties.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane was named best player of the tournament after he led the Teranga Lions to their first-ever AFCON trophy on Sunday.
"For me Aboubakar is the best player of the tournament. He deserves to be named the best player of the tournament. After all he did, I think he earned it. But he was deservingly rewarded for the goals that he scored. But of course, it’s always good to have teammates that provide you with the services.
"You don’t have to take away the contributions of the other players as well. But it’s great to have a good finisher that will crown the whole hard work of the team," Okocha said.
Gyan added, "I think I agree with Jay Jay [Okocha]. For me, he is the player of the tournament."
"We’re talking about consistency from the beginning of the tournament…he earned my respect in the game against Ethiopia. He lost the ball in his eighteen and had to sprint 75 metres to recover the ball. You could see he is playing with his heart.
"Not only about the goal. He was playing with his heart. In the third place game, they were three goals down and he had to come in to inspire the team to win the third place. For me, he had done everything to be the best player of the tournament, but I don’t know how they rate the best player of the tournament though."