Ivory Coast and Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri has been named best African player in France’s Ligue 1.
The 25-year-old picked up the Marc-Vivien Foe trophy after finishing ahead of Algeria’s Ryad Boudebouz (Montpellier) and Cameroon’s Nations Cup winning captain Benjamin Moukandjo (Lorient).
The annual award is named in honour of Cameroon international Foe who died after collapsing on the pitch in 2003.
Seri is the second Ivorian to win the accolade after Gervinho who won it back-to-back in 2010 and 2011.
Capped 13 times by the Elephants thus far, Seri has been influential for Nice this season, scoring six goals and providing nine assists to help them to third in the league.
Seri began his career with Ivorian giants ASEC Mimosas followed by stints in Portugal with FC Porto and Paços de Ferreira respectively.
He joined Nice in June 2015 and played in all 38 league matches in his first season, scoring three goals as Nice finished fourth in Ligue 1.
Having made his international debut against Sierra Leone in September 2005, he played for Ivory Coast at this year’s African Cup of Nations in Gabon where the defending champions suffered an embarrassing group stage exit.
Last year’s winner, Sofiane Boufal of Morocco, played for Lille before joining English Premier League side Southampton.
Previous winners of the Marc-Vivien Foe trophy:
2016: Sofiane Boufal (Morocco/Lille)
2015: Andre Ayew (Ghana/Marseille)
2014: Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria/Lille)
2013: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Saint-Étienne)
2012: Younès Belhanda (Morocco/Montpellier)
2011: Gervinho (Ivory Coast/Lille)
2010: Gervinho (Ivory Coast/Lille)
2009: Marouane Chamakh (Morocco/Bordeaux)
Source: BBC Sports
