Riyad Karim Mahrez, the 2016 CAF African Footballer of the Year as well as the BBC African Footballer of the Year, won his fifth Premier League title on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the Etihad Stadium.
Riyad Mahrez, an Algerian winger, has played for Guardiola’s Manchester City, which became only the fifth club in English football history to win three top-flight titles in a row, following Huddersfield Town (1924–1926), Arsenal (1933–1935), Liverpool (1982–1984), and Manchester United (1999–2001 and 2007–2009).
Manchester City won the Premier League on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, and Guadiola’s team could be crowned champions after Nottingham Forest defeated Arsenal on Saturday night.
For the majority of the season, the Citizens trailed Arsenal, but from February to May of 2023, they went undefeated, which allowed them to gain ground.
Mahrez, who joined the Premier League in the 2013-14 season from Le Havre in the French League for a fee of £450,000 for a three-and-a-half-year contract with Leicester City, has surpassed Didier Drogba in the number of titles won by an African player in the Premier League.
Didier Drogba of Côte d’Ivoire, who previously held the record, has been surpassed by the Algerian, who now has five Premier League titles. Mahrez won his championships at Leicester City and Manchester City, whereas Drogba took home all four trophies at Chelsea.
Mahrez, who made Leicester City’s record transfer fee of £60m to Manchester City in the 2018-19 season, reacted to a question by a Qatari multinational network of sports channels, beIN Sports, which directed him to narrate his journey with his club.
“The journey has been amazing; that’s what I was aiming for when I signed for this club. I wanted to achieve more glory, and when I arrived at this club, they promised me that I would win with the help of everyone,” Mahrez expressed.
