Koulibaly and Benatia up for award

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Juventus defender Medhi Benatia are two of the five candidates for BBC African Footballer of the Year.

There are two Serie A representatives in the shortlist announced this weekend.

Napoli centre-back Koulibaly has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months, going close to the Scudetto with a new club record Serie A points total and impressing in the Champions League.

He also shone with Senegal at the 2018 World Cup and his price-tag is now well above €100m.

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Juventus defender Medhi Benatia are two of the five candidates for BBC African Footballer of the Year.

There are two Serie A representatives in the shortlist announced this weekend.

Napoli centre-back Koulibaly has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months, going close to the Scudetto with a new club record Serie A points total and impressing in the Champions League.

He also shone with Senegal at the 2018 World Cup and his price-tag is now well above €100m.

Morocco participated in that tournament too, their first World Cup since 1998, and Benatia won another Serie A title for Juventus in 2018.

The other candidates for the award are Liverpool pair Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt), plus Thomas Partey of Atletico Madrid and Ghana.