He has done it... yet again! Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfield lynchpin Yaya Toure has trumped fellow African players Didier Drogba and John Mikel Obi to the CAF African Player of the Year award for 2013.
Following in the footsteps of Chelsea forward Samuel Eto'o and African football personality Abedi Pele, Yaya has now won the award three times in a row, a feat he is very proud of.
"What I am doing now, I am doing very well and I am very happy about that," Yaya said in Lagos on Jan 9, 2014 as he flaunted his trophy.
The humble Ivorian, however, did not hesitate to recognize the stiff competition he faced from Drogba and Mikel.
"It was quite tight - because there were good opponents in front of me. Obi Mikel was doing well - and Drogba as well, so I was thinking maybe I would lose it. I am lucky today, I am very proud of myself," he said.
Stamford Bridge legend Drogba trailed Mikel who came in second after Yaya in the vote tally.
Yaya Toure's perfomances in 2013 led him to be the only African among the 23 shortlisted players for FIFA's World Player of the Year.
Here are the full awards:
National Team of the Year - Nigeria
Youth National Team of the Year - Nigeria U17
Club of the Year - Al Ahly
Fair Play Award - Nigeria Supporters Club
Referee of the Year - Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria)
Most Promising Talent - Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria U17)
Coach of the Year - Stephen Keshi (Nigeria)
African XI - Enyeama; Fathy, Benatia, Constant, Mikel, Yaya, Aboutreika, Pitroipa, Emenike, Gyan, Aubameyang; Coach: Keshi
African Player of the Year (Africa-based) - Mohamed Aboutreika (Egypt)
African Player of the Year - Yaya Toure (Cote D’Ivoire)
CAF Legend Award - Bruno Metsu, Jose Mehdi Faria
