He's been called the nicest guy in football, a pay-it-forward kind of person who uses the riches he’s made in top-flight soccer to help uplift the country where he grew up.
“Why would I want 10 Ferraris, 20 diamond watches or two planes?” Sadio Mané says. “What will these objects do for me and the world?”
The 29-year-old Liverpool and Senegal star has donated millions to help his people – and the mayor of the region where he was born recently honoured him by naming a stadium after him.
Mané deserves the honour for helping to put Senegal on the map, says Abdoulaye Diop, the first citizen of Sedhiou, an area in the south of Senegal.
The striker with the golden boot became a national hero when he scored the winning goal in the recent Afcon final in a tense penalty shootout between Senegal and Egypt. His goal earned the Lions of Teranga their first Afcon trophy and Mané was named most outstanding player of the tournament.
He admits it was a big blow for him when he missed the first penalty early in the game. “But my teammates came to me and said, ‘Sadio, we lose together and we win together. We know you. You have done too much for us – keep on going’,” he says.
And he did, slamming the ball into the bottom corner of the net to seal his team’s 4-2 victory. Yet he insists that teamwork brought the trophy home.
“The trophy belongs to the whole Senegal team. Everyone deserves it,” he says.
Esta historia es de la edición 3 March 2022 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 3 March 2022 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life