Roma's Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah was dropped in the final list for the African player of the year after the African football Confederation (CAF) announced on Thursday their three nominees for the prestigious award in 2016.
Earlier this month, Salah made a five players' short-list alongside Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borrusia Dortmund), Algeria's Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Senegal's Sadio Mane (Liverpool) and Algeria's Islam Slimani (Leicester City).
The African governing body opted for Aubameyang, Mahrez and Mane, excluding the Egyptian winger and Islam Slimani.
On the other hand Zambian midfielder Rainford Kalaba, Zimbabwean forward Khama Billiat and Ugandan goalkeeper Denis Onyango are the three contenders for the prize for best African player based on the continent.
The winners will be announced at the Glo-CAF Awards Gala scheduled for Thursday, 5 January, 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria
