2017: Salah beats Drogba and Eto’o to emerge as African’s most famous football icon

The Egyptian is living his dream after clinching both the BBC African Footballer of the Year and the CAFN African Footballer of the Year.

Mohamed Salah is now the most followed African football icon on social media, beating off competition from Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o Fils.

The Egyptian has a social media following of 18, 107, 322 fans followed by Didier Drogba on 16, 306, 174 and Samuel Eto’O on 12, 871, 174.

The 25-year-old crowned the king of African football last week at the International Conference Centre during the 2017 Aiteo CAF Awards night.

He was rewarded for his outstanding season last term, after bagging 39 goals in the 2017 calendar year and his remarkable form has increased his popularity on the African continent.

"Winning this award is a dream come true – 2017 was an unbelievable year for me I had a fantastic time with the national team," said Salah after receiving the trophy.

"This is a big award for me, a special moment in my career. I would like to dedicate it to all the kids in Africa and Egypt.

"I want to tell them to never stop dreaming, never stop believing."

Salah won the Africa Player of the year last Friday in Accra, Ghana pipping Liverpool team-mate, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at a colourful ceremony at the Ghanaian capital and his acceptance speech was full of appreciation to his team-mates and his fans.

The Egyptian is living his dream after clinching both the BBC African Footballer of the Year and the CAFN African Footballer of the Year. Read Full Story