Sadio Mane's story shows that a lot can change in a space of a year as he went from leaving Liverpool as a hero before becoming an unwanted figure at Bayern Munich, and then pocketing £650 000 (R15.6 million) a week at Al Nassr playing alongside one of football's biggest names, Cristiano Ronaldo. With an emotional rise to the top and success at the highest level preceding an alarming fall, Soccer Laduma's Lukhanyo Mtuta takes a deep dive into the reigning CAF African Men's Footballer of the Year's humble and turbulent story.
The journey begins in the small village of Bambali in Senegal, where an estimated 2 000 people reside. Located about 400km from the country's capital, Dakar, the village is known far beyond its tentacles, with those in Southampton, Liverpool, Munich, and Riyadh now aware of the massive individual talent it has produced. With 2022 being arguably his most successful year as a footballer, 2023 has so far been a stark contrast as his big money move to Saudi Arabia was preceded by a difficult and perhaps regrettable spell at Bayern, where he had become a notable pariah in the squad.
Humble Beginnings
To draw a clearer picture of what's next for the player, we take a look at his journey, which started while he was a little boy who knew he wanted to be a professional footballer at a very early age. Perhaps a relatable story for many African stars, adversity began quite early for Mane as he lost his father when he was just seven years old. His dad was an imam prior to his untimely passing, but Mane would be left in the good care of his mother and uncle. Many of those close to the player have often said the forward showed very little interest in the school classroom and that it was clear early on that his passion lay in football, with little to no room for other career options, despite his mother's hope of him getting his education.
The Rapid Rise To Europe's Elite
Nicknamed "Dinho" after Brazilian icon Ronaldinho, Mane had only one goal in his mind and that was to become a world-recognised footballing superstar. During his teenage years, without telling his mother, the player left home and travelled to Dakar to go on trial at the Academy Generation Foot and quickly found his feet at the club from which past and present stars such as Papiss Cisse and Imsaillar Sarr also hail. In 2011, Mane joined French outfit FC Metz's B team and just a year later, in August 2012, he sealed a move to Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg for €4 million (R83.2 million). His rapid rise in Europe was just the beginning, though, as in 2014 he signed for Southampton in a deal worth €23 million (R478 million). It was while he was in Hampshire in England that his name really came to the fore, impressing in arguably the biggest league in the world in a team that was known to produce some of the best young talents in Europe at the time. While with the Saints, Mane would set a famous Premier League record that still remains today. In a 6-1 victory over Aston Villa in the 2014/15 campaign, he scored the fastest hattrick in EPL history when he netted three times in the first 2 minutes and 56 seconds of the match. After contributing with 24 goals and 14 assists in 75 appearances for the Saints, the now-31-year-old was once again on the move as he joined giants Liverpool for a big fee of €41.2 million (R857 million) in 2016, becoming one of Jurgen Klopp's first signings for the Reds.
Becoming A Legend On Merseyside
Upon his arrival at Anfield, Mane became only the third Senegalese player to represent the Reds, following in the footsteps of Salif Diao and El Hadji Diouf. While the latter largely underwhelmed at the club after joining on the back of huge hype, the 2022 CAF Men's Footballer of the Year definitely lived up to expectations at Liverpool, having also drawn some serious interest from Manchester United before deciding to snub a move to Old Trafford. He made Liverpool his new home as he had never stayed for more than two years at a club since leaving Senegal. In six years at Anfield, he rose to the top of English and European continental football, winning every available trophy with the Reds, including the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19 and the Premier League in 2019/20, the side's first league title in 30 years. In 2018/19, he also won the EPL Golden Boot with 22 goals, sharing the award with teammate Mohamed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was playing for Arsenal at the time.
The Ill-fated Jump To Munich
Six trophies in six seasons with Liverpool saw the player decide to seek a new challenge, but his next destination would bring misery. In July 2022, Mane was signed by the Bundesliga giants on a three-year deal for €32 million (R665 million) amid a sensational year that saw him with the Africa Cup of Nations as Senegal's leading marksman, and was named the player of the tournament in Cameroon too. He also came close to winning the treble with Liverpool, only for the Reds to lose the 2021/22 Champions League final to Real Madrid after claiming the FA Cup and League Cup in England. His achievements were also bolstered by a sensational second-place finish at the 2022 Ballon d'Or awards behind only Karim Benzema. Despite a positive start in Munich, during which he made nine goal contributions in his first 14 Bundesliga games, an inflamed head of fibula injury in November would ruin things drastically for the Lions of Teranga talisman. This sadly saw him miss out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where Senegal were viewed as one of the dark horses prior to his absence. Compatriots and national team coach Aliou Cisse have since revealed that this destroyed Mane's confidence, something that appeared to be evident when he returned to Bayern in February 2023. By this time, he had lost his place in the team and his frustrations made headlines in the press, with reports claiming he was at odds with then-manager Julian Nagelsmann, while he was also later accused of intimidating the young coach. In March, things took a turn for the worse when he punched his teammate Leroy Sane in the face during a dressing-room altercation following a Champions League loss to Manchester City at the Etihad. Sane was left with a bleeding lip from the incident while Mane became a villain in the squad, with some players reportedly no longer speaking to him. On the pitch, things were equally as bad as he registered just one goal for Bayern in the 2023 calendar year, straight away putting a dampener on his relations with new head coach Thomas Tuchel. It was quickly evident that his time at the Bundesliga club could soon draw to an abrupt end as Tuchel and some Bayern executives made it public that the African superstar did not meet their expectations in his first season in Bavaria. After reported interest from the Premier League sides such as Chelsea and Newcastle United, Mane ended up joining Saudi Arabian giants Al Nassr at the beginning of August on a three-year deal for €30 million (R623 million), to end his miserable stint with the German club.
A New Chapter With Riches
In a recent interview with Al Arabiya, Mane explained that he spoke to his mom about moving to the Middle East, saying: "Since I had the opportunity I spoke to my family, and they were happiest of course because it is a Muslim country. My mum especially encouraged me to go. My mum is Muslim like me, she was the first to vote for me to go there and my whole family was excited for me to come here so it was not hard – it is important to my faith. I am pleased to be part of this project and to make it go forward, we have a bright future ahead." Linking up with Ronaldo is a wonderful thing for the Bambali native, who has admitted his admiration for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. "I think you can see how quick everything goes for me, because he [Ronaldo] is one of the best players in history if not the best of course, and that was easy for me, he makes it easier for me," he continued in the abovementioned interview. "And (Brazil midfielder Anderson) Talisca and the other boys, they are all really great players and I am really excited to start the league with all these boys to make the club a real success." Things are already looking up for the Lions of Teranga talisman whose beaming smile is already back. Just four games into his Al Nassr career, Mane has won the 2023 United Arab Club Champions Cup with his new club. Now set to help Al Nassr challenge for the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League title, it is clear, despite what he has been through over the past year, that the future still holds a lot for the west African superstar, who is also set to defend his Afcon title next year in the Ivory Coast. The Bambali native will be hoping to continue smiling by the time that tournament ends as he closes out the latter stages of his turbulent career on a yet another high.
