Senegalese star Sadio Mane, the Liverpool star, who reached the African Nations final for the second time in a row, dreams of adding another title to his treasury, which was filled with titles he won with Liverpool.
But how were the beginnings of the "Lion of Terenga"?
How did he reach this stardom and at the same time maintain his modesty?
Mane was born in Bambali, deep in Senegal, 400 kilometers from Dakar, the country's capital.
In his childhood, his family’s priority was to study and help them reap the crop. His uncle was skeptical about the possibility of professional football and did not believe in the possibility of achieving his dream, and he was telling him, “How will you succeed in football? I am not rich and I do not have any money to send you to training.”
However, Mane achieved great success and moved between European teams until he reached Liverpool.
The Senegalese international donated about 350 thousand dollars to build a school, and 693,000 dollars in 2021 to build a hospital in his village.
Très honoré de l'audience que le Chef de l'État, Son Excellence @Macky_Sall m'a accordée.
Un bon moment d'échanges sur le football mais aussi sur nos projets sociaux.
#Sénégal for Ever 🦁 pic.twitter.com/mO1afpZqtP
— Sadio Mané (@SMane_Officiel) June 11, 2021
And in 2018, during the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, he donated 300 shirts to the residents of his village to encourage the “Liver” in the confrontation in which they defeated the “Reds” 1-3.
Mane also donated 45,000 euros to help people infected with the Corona virus in Senegal.
He was seen cleaning the bathrooms of a mosque in Liverpool, embracing ball collectors and helping to carry players' water bottles.
🎥 |
Sadio Mane, Liverpool player, cleans a mosque toilet.pic.twitter.com/rEIF8KbgKy
— English Premier League (@PLSpotlight) September 2, 2018
And about his relationship with his teammates, Ismael Sarr, a Watford player, says that he is constantly communicating with him and gives him a lot of advice, and he is like a big brother to him.
He paid the costs of 50 fans to travel from Senegal to Cameroon to watch the semi-final match that the "Terenga Lions" won over Burkina Faso 3-1, and promised that he would bring more Senegalese fans to attend the final against Egypt on Sunday.
With his victory in the Premier League and the European Champions League with "Liver" in addition to other titles, Mane - scored 3 goals so far and assisted two others - is looking forward to leading his country to crown the African Nations Cup and prove himself and his position as one of the legends of African football.