Algerian Yacine Brahimi wins BBC African Footballer of the Year

Algerian midfielder Yacine Brahimi has won BBC African Player of the Year Awards. The 24-year-old midfielder becomes the first Algerian to win the award, which is decided by football fans.

Porto winger Brahimi told BBC Sport: "It's a big honour for me to receive this wonderful trophy. I owe it to my country, Algeria, and to all the people who voted for me.

"It's also a trophy for the whole of Africa, because it rewards an African player. So I am really very happy."

"First I won the award because of the people who voted for me. So once again I need to thank them.

"Then it's thanks for FC Porto - they allowed me to play in the Champions League, to play in big games and to have great performances. The club has allowed me to express myself and to perform well on the pitch."

After a record number of votes were submitted from fans in 207 Fifa-registered countries, Brahimi came out on top ahead of Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ivorian pair Gervinho and Yaya Toure.

He is thrilled to have been acclaimed as the best player on the continent for the past year.

"This trophy is going to give me more strength, more desire to work, to get better, to learn so that I can keep having great performances," added Brahimi, who was congratulated in a Tweet by last year's winner Toure.