Sadio Mané

Sadio Mané

Sadio Mané (born 10 April 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Senegal national team.

Mané began his professional career with Ligue 2 club Metz at age 19, but he departed after a solitary season to join Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2012 for a fee of €4 million, winning a domestic double of the Austrian Football Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup in the 2013–14 season. Later that summer, Mané transferred to English club Southampton for a club record fee of £11.8 million, where he set a new Premier League record for the fastest hat-trick, scored in 176 seconds in a 6–1 win over Aston Villa in 2015.

He signed for fellow Premier League side Liverpool in 2016, for a reported fee of £34 million. With Liverpool, Mané helped them reach back-to-back UEFA Champions League Finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter. He also finished as the league's joint-top goalscorer in the 2018–19 season, winning the Premier League Golden Boot. The same year, he finished fourth for the Ballon d'Or and fifth for The Best FIFA Men's Player award. In January 2020, he was named the African Footballer of the Year for 2019.

At international level, Mané has registered 19 goals in 69 appearances for Senegal since his debut in 2012, and currently ranks as his nation's fifth all-time top goalscorer, and eighth all-time for appearances. He has represented the national team at the 2012 Olympics, as well as the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations. In the 2019 iteration, Mané helped Senegal to a runners-up finish. He has also represented Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup; their second ever appearance in the competition.

Club career

Early career

Born in Sédhiou, Sénégal, Mané started his career at the Académie Génération Foot, Senegalese football academy.

Mané made his professional debut for Metz on 14 January 2012, coming on as a substitute for Kévin Diaz in the 75th minute of a 0–1 home defeat against Bastia in Ligue 2. He made 19 appearances in his first league season, 12 as a starter, and scored a solitary goal in a 2–5 loss to Guingamp at the Stade Saint-Symphorien on 4 May. Metz were relegated to the Championnat National at the end of the season.

During his time with Metz, he was teammates with Kalidou Koulibaly, who at the time did not have a Senegalese passport and was playing international football for the French U-20 team.

Red Bull Salzburg

Mané (right) playing for Red Bull Salzburg in 2013

On 31 August 2012, Mané moved to Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg for the third biggest transfer fee that FC Metz had ever received. The fee was believed to be €4 million.

He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 31 October, in a 3–1 away win at Kalsdorf in the third round of the Austrian Cup.

On 27 October 2013, he netted his first hat-trick in the Austrian Bundesliga, during a 3–0 win away to Grödig. He scored another treble on 7 May 2014 as Salzburg won 7–0 at Horn in the cup semi-finals; the season ended with the team winning a domestic double. At the end of August 2014 Mané forced a transfer out of the club, by not coming to the training and to the most important game for Salzburg at that time to qualify for the Champions League.

Southampton

2014–15 season

On 1 September 2014, Mané transferred to Premier League side Southampton for £11.8 million, signing a four-year contract. He made his debut 22 days later in a 2–1 League Cup victory over Arsenal, winning the penalty for Southampton's first goal. He made his first league appearance for the club in another 2–1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on 27 September, starting and assisting Ryan Bertrand for the first goal of the game. He scored his first goal for the club in an 8–0 victory over Sunderland on 18 October, although this was subsequently credited as an own goal by Patrick van Aanholt. He did, however, score his first goal in his next game, a 1–0 win over Stoke City a week later.

In December and January he scored in three successive matches, against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal. Mané scored two late winning goals in 1–0 league victories at Queens Park Rangers on 7 February 2015 and at home to Crystal Palace on 3 March respectively. However, Mané had been dropped from Southampton's starting line-up for their 0–2 home defeat to Liverpool on 22 February as a punishment for being late to the stadium.

On 16 May, during Southampton's final home match of the season, Mané scored three times in 2 minutes 56 seconds in a 6–1 win over Aston Villa to set a new Premier League record for the fastest hat-trick. The record had been held since 1994 by Robbie Fowler, who scored three against Arsenal in 4 minutes and 33 seconds. Mané finished the season with 10 goals from 32 appearances in all competitions.

2015–16 season

Mané (right) playing for Southampton in 2015

Mané began the 2015–16 season by registering two assists in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg match with Vitesse Arnhem at home and scoring in the return leg, as Southampton eased through to the next round 5–0 on aggregate. On 2 December, he took 39 seconds to open the scoring against Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, but the Saints eventually lost 6–1 at home.

On 2 January 2016, he was again dropped from the starting line-up by manager Ronald Koeman for a match at Norwich City when he turned up late for a pre-match meeting. He received a straight red card on 12 March at the end of a 2–1 win at Stoke City for a collision into Erik Pieters, although this was quickly overturned on appeal.

Having failed to score in the league for over four months, Mané scored twice in a 3–2 victory over Liverpool on 20 March 2016, followed by five goals in the next five matches, including a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Manchester City on 1 May. He finished the season as Southampton's top scorer, with 15 goals in all competitions.

Liverpool

2016–17 season

Mané playing for Liverpool in 2017

On 28 June 2016, Mané joined Liverpool for a transfer fee of £34 million on a five-year contract. The transfer fee made him the most expensive African player in history at the time. On 14 August, he made his Premier League debut for the Reds, scoring the fourth goal in a 4–3 away win against Arsenal. Having missed Liverpool's defeat at Burnley through a slight shoulder injury, Mané returned to the starting line-up against Burton Albion in the League Cup where he had two assists in a 5–0 win.

On 19 December, Mané scored the only goal of the 227th Merseyside derby in added time against Everton at Goodison Park. On 11 February 2017, Mané scored two goals within two minutes against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, for Liverpool's first league win in 2017. On 20 April 2017, Mané was named in the PFA Team of the Year after scoring 13 league goals in his first season with Liverpool. Despite missing the latter part of the campaign through injury, Mané was awarded the Liverpool Player of the Season award on 9 May 2017.

2017–18 season

In the first match of the new season, on 12 August 2017, away to Watford, Mané scored Liverpool's first goal of the season in a 3–3 draw. He was named Premier League Player of the Month after scoring a goal in each of the Reds' three matches in August. On 9 September 2017, he was given a straight red card in the first half of a 5–0 loss to Manchester City for a high boot against goalkeeper Ederson, resulting in a three-match ban. Mané, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho made up a prolific attacking quartet dubbed the "Fab Four" and "Fab Three" after the mid-season exit of the latter.

On 14 February 2018, Mané scored his first hat-trick for Liverpool in a 5–0 away win against Porto in the round of 16 first leg of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League. In doing so, he became only the second player to score an away hat-trick for the club in Europe. Later, with a goal in the 3–0 win over Bournemouth on 14 April, he overtook Demba Ba's record of 43 to become the highest scoring Senegalese in Premier League history.

On 26 May, during the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid, Mané scored Liverpool's equalising goal in a 3–1 defeat. In doing so, he became the first Senegalese player to score in the final of the competition. His goal was also his 10th for the campaign which saw Liverpool become the first team in history to have three players score 10+ goals in a single Champions League season, with Mané achieving the milestone alongside fellow forwards Salah and Firmino.

2018–19 season

On 22 November 2018, Mané signed new long-term deal with the Reds. On 10 March 2019, Mané scored twice in a 4–2 win over Burnley, the second of which was his 50th competitive goal for Liverpool. His goals also saw him become only the fifth Liverpool player to score in six consecutive home Premier League appearances after Michael Owen, Fernando Torres, Luis Suárez and Salah. Three days later, he scored twice more in a 3–1 win over Bayern Munich to help Liverpool progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In doing so, he became the club's record goalscorer away from home in the competition with seven goals to his name. During Liverpool's next match, he broke another of Ba's records to become the Senegalese player with the most goals scored in a single Premier League season, after scoring his 17th goal for the campaign in a 2–1 win over Fulham. On 20 April, he was one of six players nominated for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award alongside teammate Virgil van Dijk. He was also named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Liverpool teammates, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Van Dijk.

On the final day of the domestic campaign, Mané scored twice in a 2–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. His brace took him to 22 goals for the campaign which saw him share the Premier League Golden Boot award with Salah and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. On 1 June, Mané helped win an early penalty for Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final against Tottenham, only 24 seconds after the kick-off, after his cross was judged to have hit Moussa Sissoko's arm inside the penalty area; Salah subsequently converted from the spot to open the scoring, and Liverpool ultimately won the match 2–0 to claim the title.

2019–20 season

Mané playing for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League, December 2019

On 14 August 2019, Mané scored twice in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final against Chelsea in a match that Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties after the game had finished 2–2 after 120 minutes. Mané was named man of the match. Exactly one month later, he scored twice in a 3–1 win over Newcastle United and extended his record run of matches without defeat for Liverpool at Anfield to 50 matches, a league record by any player at a particular stadium. On his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool on 5 October, Mané scored his 50th league goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Leicester City.

On 21 October, Mané was named in the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d'Or. On 2 December he finished in fourth place for the award, behind Lionel Messi, Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo. Two days later, he scored once and assisted two more goals as Liverpool beat Everton 5–2 in the Merseyside derby to extend their unbeaten run in league football to 32 matches, which was a new club record. Later that month, Liverpool won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, with Mané setting up the winning goal scored by Firmino in the final against Flamengo.

On 7 January 2020, Mané was named the CAF African Footballer of the Year. He is only the second Senegalese after El Hadji Diouf to have won this award.

On 24 February, Mané scored the winner in a 3–2 home win against West Ham United in the Premier League as Liverpool made it 21 consecutive home wins, a league record shared with Bill Shankly’s Liverpool team from 1972, and also made it a joint Premier League record 18 wins in a row. On 7 March, Mané scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win against Bournemouth at Anfield as Liverpool set a new English top-flight record of 22 consecutive home wins.

International career

Mané was part of the Senegal team at the 2012 Olympic tournament, and started every match as they advanced through Group A as runners-up to Great Britain before losing 4–2 after extra time in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Mexico.

Mané was ruled out of the Senegalese squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after suffering a calf injury in Southampton's 2–0 win against Arsenal on 1 January 2015. He later returned to the squad, and started in their final two group matches against South Africa and Algeria in a group stage exit.

Mané represented Senegal at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and scored a goal in each of the nation's opening two games, 2–0 wins against Tunisia and Zimbabwe. After a goalless draw in the quarter-final clash against Cameroon, he missed the penalty in the shoot-out that saw Senegal eliminated from the tournament.

In May 2018, Mané was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw against Japan in the group stage. Mané started all three of Senegal's group matches as they were eliminated after the first stage, finishing below Japan on fair play points.

Mané was once again called up to Senegal's final squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored two goals and missed a penalty in a 3–0 win against Kenya, as Senegal finished second in the group stage and qualified for the knockout stage. Mané scored the only goal of the match and missed another penalty in Senegal's 1–0 win over Uganda in the round of 16. He played in Senegal's next three matches as they advanced to the final, losing 1–0 to Algeria in a rematch of Senegal's opening game of the tournament. Despite finishing the competition as runner-up, Mané was named to the Team of the Tournament.

Style of play

Mané with Liverpool in 2017

Mané was described as a complete player who plays with 'high levels of intensity and concentration' by Liverpool teammate Fabinho. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called Mané a "world-class winger", comparing him to the likes of former Liverpool player John Barnes. He was compared to Cristiano Ronaldo by former Ajax defender Danny Blind, who praised him for his ability to score with either foot and headers, along with making "astonishing" sprints. A versatile forward, Mané is a prolific goalscorer, whose main traits are his finishing, speed, technique, and trickery in possession, as well as his decision-making, tactical awareness, creativity, agility, balance, control, touch on the ball, and dribbling skills. He has drawn praise in the media for his intelligent play, passing, and his ability to get into good positions, from which he can score goals or create chances for teammates. Known for his quiet and timid personality, his ability to cope with pressure has also been highlighted as one of his main strengths. Beyond his offensive, technical, and creative qualities, his high defensive work-rate has also been noted by pundits, as well as his ability in the air, despite his diminutive stature of 1.75m (5' 9"). Mané usually plays as a winger on the left flank, a position which allows him to cut into the centre and shoot on goal with his stronger, right foot.

Personal life

Mané pursued a career in football despite his father forbidding him from playing the sport as a child. He currently resides in Allerton and has been burgled twice, once in November 2017 and again in February 2019. He is a practising Muslim and occasionally is seen making du'a before the start of each match.