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Sevilla’s exceptional Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has been voted by thousands of African football fans as the winner of the first La Liga Santander African MVP Award beating our very own Samuel Chukwueze.
This crowns a stunning season in which ‘Bono’ helped Sevilla to UEFA Champions League qualification and beat the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Andre Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak to the Zamora Trophy as La Liga’s best goalkeeper.
Over 30 000 votes were received from across the African continent and from countries such as France, Spain and the United States for this unique fan-driven La Liga Santander African MVP Award, in which fans were called on to vote for their standout African player of the season.
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Bounou was overwhelmingly voted as the popular winner, garnering by far the most votes ahead of the likes of Barcelona’s Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Villareal’s duo of Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze and Senegal striker Boulaye Dia, as well as the Central African Republic’s Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.
The 31-year-old conceded just 24 goals in 31 appearances in La Liga, an average of 0.77 goals conceded per game in an outstanding and consistent season for Sevilla.
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Bounou joins a legendary list of Africans to have won the award
The Moroccan international follows in the tradition of fantastic African goalkeepers to have starred in LaLiga, such as legendary Cameroon trio Carlos Kameni, Thomas N’kono and Jacques Songo’o, who won the Zamora Trophy at the end of a brilliant 1996/1997 season for Deportivo La Coruna.
‘Bono’ won the LaLiga Mid-Season MVP Award when the competition was launched in January this year, and he was a landslide winner of the Full Season MVP Award in a campaign that reached billions across the African continent.
“I'm making this video to thank LaLiga for this award of best African player of the season 21/22. I am very happy, for me it is a great honour. I would like to thank all my teammates, the coaching staff and all the members of Sevilla FC who are by my side and who work every day and without them it would certainly not have been possible. So thank you very much and a big hug.“ said Bounou.
“LaLiga would like to warmly congratulate Yassine Bounou on becoming the first recipient of the LaLiga Santander African MVP Award. He is a worthy and popular recipient, having received the majority of votes from thousands of African football fans, who we would like to warmly thank for the way they’ve embraced and participated in this competition in huge numbers. This award honours LaLiga Santander’s outstanding African player of the season, but also acknowledges the huge contribution and continued growth of LaLiga on the African continent, both on and off the pitch. We hope to see this competition grow in strength and stature in years to come,” said Marcos Pelegrin, LaLiga Southern Africa Managing Director.
Fans participating in the voting for the LaLiga Santander African MVP Award competition stood a chance to win a trip to Spain to watch a La Liga Santander match live.
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