Unarguably, Senegalese forward and Liverpool talisman Sadio Mane is one of the best footballers in the world and a proven goal scorer. His goals scoring records and team play has made him one of the most sought after strikers in the world.
In two consecutive seasons, he helped Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League finals, winning the 2018-2019 edition of the prestigious league.
Mane further proved his prowess in the Premier League in that same 2018-2019 season by finishing as the league’s joint-top goalscorer and winning the Premier League Golden Boot.
Despite all these achievements in one season, the best accolade he got outside the Premier League was a fourth finish in the Ballon d’Or and a fifth finish in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Besides that, in January 2020, he was crowned the African Footballer of the Year for 2019.
Sadio Mane deserves better
Most critics believe that Sadio Mane deserved better at world football awards last season based on his performance. The critics say he would have probably done better at the awards or even won them if he was playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.
This argument is based on the fact that all the winners of the Ballon d’Or and The Best awards have been from either Real Madrid or Barcelona since 2009 till date. Mostly between Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo while he was still playing for Real Madrid.
Though in history, there have been a couple of players who have won those awards from the Premier League, it is almost looking like an impossible task for Sadio Mane to do what Cristiano Ronaldo did in 2008 when he won the Ballon d’Or while he was playing for Manchester United in the Premier League.
Can Liverpool help Mane?
Now that Barcelona and Real Madrid have shown interest in securing the signature of Sadio Mane, one of the scenarios the management of the Senegalese may consider before putting pen to paper is the possibility of winning the Ballon d’Or.
This has become even more important than ever since Mane’s documentary was released where he was heard promising his people back in Africa that he would bring home the Ballon d’Or.
Now, the question is, as Sadio Mane is winning laurels for Liverpool Football Club, can the club help him to win the Ballon d’Or?
