24/04/2025 09:37
Ivorian football great Yaya Toure has said former Nigeria captain Mikel Obi was more deserving of the 2013 CAF African Footballer of the Year award, which he controversially won for the third time.Toure, who claimed the award ahead of Mikel despite Nigerias triumph at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, made the revelation on The Obi One Podcast hosted by the ex-Chelsea midfielder.You deserved it, to be honest, Tour told Mikel. Nigeria won the AFCON, and you were instrumental in that. If it came to you, Id have been okay because you deserved it.Mikel was pivotal in Nigerias third AFCON title in South Africa, where they eliminated Cte dIvoire in the quarter-finals, a match in which Toure featured.Despite the debate that followed the award decision, Tour went on to win a fourth consecutive CAF Player of the Year title in 2014, becoming the only man to do so back-to-back, although he shares the overall tally of four wins with Cameroons Samuel Etoo.
