Sadio Mané (28 years old) is a different footballer and not only because of the way he plays. The Senegalese is one of those players who dedicate much of their time and earnings to helping others. To an outstanding performance on the field of play has added an even better off the field, with humility and charity as the main protagonists.
Mane's story is told in great detail in the documentary “Made in Senegal”. It explains the ccomplicated childhood he lived in the humble village of Bambali, in the south of the country. To pursue his dream of being a footballer, he had to escape from his family, who saw it impossible for him to become a professional. A boy from his village convinced him to travel to Dakar, where he was going to test with a local team. One morning, very early and without saying anything to anyone except his best friend, he took a bus and traveled to the capital of Senegal, where he was two weeks before his family found him. Given Mané's interest in being a footballer, they allowed him to return to Dakar a year later, where he was discovered by the scout Olivier Perrin, of the FC Metz. He was in charge of taking it to Europe.
Since then, the attacker's progression has been unstoppable. From the French set he jumped to Net Bull Salzburg to later get to the Premier with his signing for him Southampton. Two seasons were enough for a great like Liverpool to notice him. In the five years he has been in the city of The Beattles has become an idol. He has won a league, a Champions League, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup. He has been in the team of the year (2017 and 2019), he has been the Golden Boot of the Premier (2019) and he has been nominated for the Golden Ball (2019).
His performance has fallen in love with, among others, Zidane, who has been for several years following the African getting to have his signing very close before leaving Madrid in 2018. He had already contacted Mané, who was going to be the star reinforcement of that summer. However, a series of decisions ended with Zizou out of the club and the purchase of the striker truncated. Last year there was an approach again, but the lack of cash in the white treasury did not allow to carry out any incorporation. At Di Stéfano he will have the opportunity to show off against the Madrid coach, who was one of his idols as a child.
You help their hometown
Mané receives a year about six million euros from his record with Liverpool. Much of that money goes to help his region in Senegal. He has built a stadium and a school there, and has provided facilities for both children and teachers. It also financed the construction of a hospital. The main reason he did it was the death of his father. “When I was seven years old, my father passed away. He had a severe stomach pain and, as there was no hospital in my village, they had to take him to another. Along the way, he got worse and died,” he commented in 2020 in an interview for Canal + Africa.
The way of being of the footballer is better understood taking into account the problems that he experienced in his childhood. “Why do I want ten Ferraris, 20 diamond watches, and two airplanes? What would that do for the world? I starved, worked in the fields, survived difficult times, played barefoot and did not go to school. Today with what I earn I can help people“he explained.
Mané, visiting Bambali, his hometown.
Mané's aid to the community is not only economic. In 2018, a video in which he could be seen went viral helping a friend clean the toilets of the mosque where he goes to pray in Liverpool. Although he did not want it to be posted on the internet, it served for a large part of the English community to praise the gesture. He is a faithful believer, as shown by praying to Allah after celebrating almost all of his goals.
A history of overcoming. From a player who has crossed the boundaries of sport to become an idol among the African community for his humility despite the privileges he enjoys. Of a man who does not forget his roots and how difficult it is to be a child on the poorest continent in the world.