Cristiano Ronaldo seems to score every week for Al Nassr as he continues to dominate headlines, while Sadio Mane has almost been totally forgotten playing alongside the ex-Manchester United No. 7. Will Senegal's superstar ever again be the player he was in England? Let's take a dive into Mane's sad fall from grace.
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For most avid followers of European football, Mane seems to have fallen into complete obscurity. Some might argue that we, here in South Africa, simply don't see a lot of Saudi Arabian news, but every other day there seems to be headlines about Ronaldo. Of course, Ronaldo is more popular than his Al Nassr teammate. He is a five-time Ballon d'Or winner and set the world alight by scoring hundreds of goals at arguably the biggest club in the world – Real Madrid – but Mane is certainly no bum. Just last year, the Senegal international finished second to Karim Benzema in the 2022 Ballon d'Or standing, just a few months after he broke hearts in Merseyside by choosing to leave Liverpool for a new challenge in Germany. It seemed certain he would succeed at Bayern Munich, that he'd immediately become one of the most effective attacking players in the Bundesliga, but the task of replacing Robert Lewandowski, who joined Barcelona in the same window, proved too difficult.
Mane quickly fell out of form before falling out with ex-colleague Leroy Sane, whose mouth he struck following a UEFA Champions League knockout encounter against Manchester City in April. This, unsurprisingly, was the start of the end for the winger in Germany. In the months that followed this incident, rumours suggested head coach Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann in March this year, didn't see the two-time African Footballer of the Year fitting in his plans, while others claimed Mane's teammates weren't too impressed with his ability as a player. Whether he was dealt a bad hand, playing most of the 2022/23 campaign in an unfamiliar centre-forward position or if it was his attitude that ultimately cost him a starring role at the Bavarians, Mane eventually accepted a big-money proposal to join Ronaldo in the Middle East, even when he reportedly had offers from other clubs in Europe.
Since his €30 million (R615 million) switch to the Gulf country, things have been quiet around the 31-year-old. He started the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season like a house on fire, scoring six times in his first six outings in his first two months, but September was bizarrely the last time he found the back of the net in league football. Mane has played nine SPL matches in a row without getting his name on the scoresheet, form that has worried supporters and sections of the media in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, a report from Kooora called the former Liverpool winger "a nightmare" for teammate Ronaldo and claimed he has struggled to cope with the 38-year-old's dominance. There have even been calls for manager Luis Castro to drop Mane from his starting XI, a reality nobody would have imagined when he decided to take his career to a significantly weaker division. This is a player who dominated in the Premier League, a player who helped the Reds get to three UEFA Champions League finals, struggling to be among the best players in a competition Opta Sports, in September, ranked as only the 27th best in the world, behind the South Korean K League 1 and Japanese J1 League. Even the German 2. Bundesliga is considered to be stronger!
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Overall, however, Mane's goal involvement numbers don't reflect what has been written about his short time in the Middle East, with the winger having played a hand in 16 goals in 23 games, but it is worrying, and sad, how quickly things went pear-shaped for a player once spoken about among football's elite. Reports suggest a return to the Premier League could be on the cards for the Senegalese superstar amid apparent interest from Saudi Public Investment Fund-owned Newcastle United, and perhaps that is exactly what Mane needs to get his career back on track.
By @KurtLaduma
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