Samuel Eto'o won the biggest accolade available at tonight's CAF Awards held at the Intercontinental City Stars Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, as the Inter striker was named the African Player of the Year.

Three players were in the running to take the ultimate personal prize in African football, but Didier Drogba (Chelsea & Cote d’Ivoire) and Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland & Ghana) did not get the votes they needed to take the award from Samuel Eto’o (Inter & Cameroon).

Drogba, who was top scorer in the English Premier League last season, won the award in 2009, and would have made it a hat-trick of CAF nods had he won it again this time around, while Asamoah Gyan, who was playing for Rennes in Ligue 1 last season would have won his first African Player of the Year award.

The Ghanaian's fantastic World Cup exploits with the Black Stars and 32-year-old Drogba's Premier League form was overshadowed by Eto'o, winning the accolade for a record fourth time, after taking it for three consecutive years between 2003 and 2005. Gyan came second in the award votes, with Drogba ending third.

Votes from the respective senior national teams' Head Coaches or Technical Directors of the 53 National Associations affiliated to CAF decided that the speedy striker was the most deserving of the trio.

Despite the Indomitable Lions’ unexpected failure at the 2010 World Cup where they were the first of the 32 teams to leave the tournament, the 29-year-old scored his country's two goals, and it was at club level where Eto'o truly turned on the style.

The Serie A title, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and UEFA Champions League were all amongst his prizes last season, not to mention the Club World Cup he added to his trophy count this past weekend, scoring in the final against African Champions TP Mazembe.

All three final nominees were included in the CAF African XI for 2010 announced at the awards show: Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire), Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Madjid Bougherra (Algeria), Taye Taiwo (Nigeria), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana), Ahmed Hassan (Egypt), Ahmed El Mohamady (Egypt), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) and Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria)

Goal.com congratulates African Player Of The Year 2010, Samuel Eto'o.