Sofiane Boufal: 5 interesting facts about the new Southampton signing

#4 Recipient of the prestigious Marc-Vivien Foe Award

For his excellent showing in the 2015-16 season, Boufal was named the Best African Player in the French first tier.

Despite Lille finishing 5th in the Ligue 1 standings, a whopping 36 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain, Boufal stood out as an exceptional midfielder throughout the 2015-16 campaign with 11 goals and 5 assists against his name despite his season being curtailed due to an unfortunate knee ligament injury.

Recognized for his remarkable performances in what was only his first full season in top-flight football, the Morocco international was rewarded with the prestigious Marc-Vivien Foe Award, indicating his status as the Best African player in the 2015-16 Ligue 1 season.

The Marc-Vivien Foe Award recognizes the best player from the continent based on their performances in France over an entire season and is named after the Cameroonian midfielder who tragically died on the pitch during the 2003 Confederations Cup semi-final.

Selected as the unanimous deserving candidate for the award, Boufal joined an illustrious list of previous winners which boasts of the names such as Gervinho, Andre Ayew, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.