We (the current players) never played against them,” Mahrez told a news conference on Saturday. Mahrez is Algeria’s highest profile player as they bid for their first Cup of Nations success since 1990. But the Manchester City winger, who was named African Footballer of the Year in 2016, said he did not see himself as a talisman for the side. “We don’t go into the game of worrying about who is a great player or who has won the African Footballer of the Year award,” he said. You have to be a leader on and off the pitch.”

Source: The Guardian June 22, 2019 14:02 UTC