ESPN FC pundit Craig Burley led the laughter after Tottenham and Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier was named in CAF’s FIFPro Best XI at its annual awards ceremony in Egypt on Tuesday night.
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Liverpool’s Sadio Mane picked up the main award after beating the likes of teammate Mohamed Salah and Africa Cup of Nations winner Riyad Mahrez to be crowned the federation’s top player for the first time.
While Burley and his fellow panellists – which included ex-West Ham United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop – agreed that Mane was a deserving recipient of the accolade, they were similarly in unison after they found Aurier being named as Africa’s best right-back rather hilarious.
The XI named six current Premier League stars, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Champions League winner Joel Matip joining the main award’s top three and the unfortunate Aurier in the team, while former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye was also included.
However, it had seemed that Aurier’s inclusion was the headline following the team’s release, with former Chelsea midfielder Burley briefly quipping at the expense of the Ivorian, to the delight of those accompanying him in the studio.
Burley joked: “Struggling at right-back, I see!”
While there was a rapturous reception to Burley’s cheap shot, they may have been unnecessarily harsh on the Spurs defender.
For now, Aurier appears to have the faith of Jose Mourinho (despite a lack of alternatives in the right-back position at Spurs) and is one of their most consistent performers this season.
Aurier is one of just four Spurs players with a WhoScored match rating in the Premier League of over 7/10, which arguably makes the full-back a shoo-in for the Tottenham team at present.
However, he may consider himself fortunate to be involved given his injury struggles early last year, which saw him miss the club’s run to the Champions League final.
Meanwhile, his Africa Cup of Nations campaign as Ivory Coast skipper was also cut short by injury – which suggests he has not been able to make much of an impact.
That said, it seems as though the ESPN crew may have taken things too far by reacting in the way they did, especially as the defender seems to have put his injury woes behind him.
Spurs fans, are you surprised that Aurier made the team? Let us know what you think below!
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