Salah defended his crown after scoring 44 goals for Liverpool and Egypt in 2018, the 26-year-old finishing as the 2017-18 Premier League Golden Boot winner with 32 goals.
Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also made the three-man shortlist for the award.
The nominees for the main award made up the front three in CAF's Africa Best XI of the year, with Guinea's Naby Keita providing further Liverpool representation in a midfield completed by Atletico Madrid and Ghana's Thomas Partey and Manchester City and Algeria's Riyad Mahrez.
