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The 25 man shortlist for the CAF African Footballer of the Year was released, and Bayern Munich's Mehdi Benatia has been named to the list. The winner will be announced at the CAF Awards Gala on January 8, 2015 in Lagos, Nigeria. Manchester City's Yaya Toure has won the award for the previous three years.
Benatia had a tremendous season last year with AS Roma which earned him attention from many club. In the end, Bayern was able to capture his signature to bring the Moroccan international to the Allianz Arena. Since joining Bayern, Benatia has slowly been worked into the full team by Pep Guardiola,, and he's been showing exactly why FC Bayern was willing to splash the cash on him.
Here's the list of all 25 players nominated.
| Player | Nationality | Club Team |
| Ahmed Musa | Nigeria | CSKA Moscow |
| Asamoah Gyan | Ghana | Al Ain |
| Dame N'doye | Senegal | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | Togo | Tottenham |
| Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting | Cameroon | Schalke |
| Fakhreddine Ben Youssef | Tunisia | CS Sfaxien |
| Ferdjani Sassi | Tunisia | CS Sfaxien |
| Gervinho | Cote d'Ivoire | Roma |
| Islam Slimani | Algeria | Sporting Lisbon |
| Kwadwo Asamoah | Ghana | Juventus |
| Mehdi Benatia | Morocco | Bayern Munich |
| Mohamed El Neny | Egypt | Basel |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon | Borussia Dortmund |
| Rais M'Bolhi | Algeria | Philadelphia Union |
| Sadio Mane | Senegal | Southampton |
| Seydou Kieta | Mali | Roma |
| Sofiane Feghouli | Algeria | Valencia |
| Stephane Mbia | Cameroon | Sevilla |
| Thulani Serero | South Africa | Ajax |
| Vincent Aboubakar | Cameroon | Porto |
| Vincent Enyeama | Nigeria | Lille |
| Wilfried Bony | Cote d'Ivoire | Swansea |
| Yacine Brahimi | Algeria | Porto |
| Yanick Bolasie | DR Congo | Crystal Palace |
| Yaya Toure | Cote d'Ivoire | Manchester City |
What do you think Benatia's chances are of winning the award?