Riyad Mahrez was recently named as the PFA player of the year by his fellow professionals after he took the league by storm this season. The Algerian wing wizard has mesmerized and dazzled for Leicester city and has completely justified his award.
The Foxes are only 3 points away from winning the title, a season which saw them marked with odds of 5000/1 to win the league at the start. Mahrez’s performances have not gone unnoticed across Europe and several reports suggest Barcelona are interested in signing him in the summer.
A Barcelona legend has even given his stamp of approval. Xavi Hernandez found the winger worthy of playing for the best. “He could play for Barcelona in the future. He is talented, but that is not in my hands these days.”
The forward was honoured by the great man’s approval. Speaking to sport-english.com he said, “It's nice to hear, and very flattering coming from a player like Xavi.” Mahrez pipped fellow teammates Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante to the PFA award.
But he is not getting carried away with the rumours and is still solely focused on playing well for his current side. "I don't want to talk too much about this because it could be interpreted badly”, said the 25-year-old.
Mahrez has scored 17 goals as well as providing 10 assists for his team this season. His most memorable goal was probably against Manchester City when he left Otamendi and Demichelis for dead and buried the ball in the back of the net.
He and Vardy have formed an impeccable partnership and have been their main attacking threat this season. Claudio Ranieri also heaped praise on the player calling him “Leicester’s light”.
The Foxes next assignment is probably their biggest. They travel to Old Trafford to play Manchester United in a game that could be talked about for years to come. Arsenal were the last team to win the title at Old Trafford in 2002.
Leicester have the chance to make their dreams come true at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. More than winning the title, it will have a huge impact on how managers will look at improving their squads for next season.
Leicester haven’t spent the amount of money the big teams in England have, but have managed to outdo all of them. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all invested heavily over the last three seasons but if Leicester win the League they will create shockwaves across the footballing world
