Mohamed Salah snubbed the CAF awards 2019 held in Egypt on Tuesday night, January 8, and instead opted to train with the Liverpool squad at their Melwood training ground.
The Egyptian star was billed to fight for the award alongside his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane and Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez.
Mane eventually took away the coveted gong, but of major concern is Salah's failure to grace the podium and celebrate with Mane.
The 27-year-old forward scooped the prize in 2017 and 2018, and could have been the first Egyptian star to take the award home on three occasions if he had won.
However, Salah shunned the gala night having been told he would not cart away the prestigious prize, with Senegalese star Mane being the biggest winner of the night in recognition of his indelible impacts for both club and country.
Another factor that may be responsible for Salah's absence was the ongoing rift between him and the Egypt Football Federation.
The Liverpool forward had berated the Egypt football body for using his image to settle a deal which he was not part of, resulting in subtle jibes from both parties.
Meanwhile, Mahrez also snubbed the award and opted to be part of the Man City team that defeated Man United in the first leg of the EFL semi-final yesterday.
The Algerian scored for Pep Guardiola's side to give Man City an edge as they look to defend their EFL title for a third consecutive time.
Comments