From humble Senegalese beginnings

Most of us know Sadio Mané after his rise to stardom at Liverpool Football Club. But the FC Bayern Munich forward has very humble beginnings.

Sadio Mané was born in Bambali, Sédhiou, Senegal. As a child, he always wanted to play football, but he was forbidden to play the game he liked by his father. His father, an Imam, wanted him to focus on his religion. At the age of 7, his father passed away. Mané’s family gave him their full support to pursue his football dream. At the age of 15, he left home and went to Dakar, where he played for M’Bour. While playing a match, he was identified by the scouts watching. This led to him being given the opportunity to join Génération Foot, a club in Dakar, which he helped to promote to the second division. Mané’s rise to the top was set in motion.

After a few years at Génération Foot, Sadio joined Metz in France. This move was possible due to the partnership between Metz and Génération Foot, and he spent one season with Metz in Ligue 2. During that time, he turned some heads and gained the interest of other clubs. Red Bull Salzburg paid the whopping €4 million asking price for Mané and secured the move in August of 2012. 

At Salzburg, Mané started to make an even bigger name for himself, scoring a brace in his second game for the club. He went on to record 20 goals and 11 assists in all competitions in his first seat Salzburg, mainly playing on the left of a front 3. The 2013 / 2014 season saw Mané continue his impressive form, ending the season with 23 goals and 19 assists in 50 appearances and winning the league and domestic cup double. Following this, Mané forced a move out of the club.

On September 1, 2014, Southampton made their then-record signing of £11.8 million for the 22-year-old. The stuff dreams are made of for any player. During his first season in the English Premier League, Mané made 10 assists and scored 10 goals and had 30 appearances. However, the season had a slow start for Mané; he scored his first goal in October in a 1-0 win against Stoke City, but was dropped from the starting 11 after arriving late for training. In the second half of the season, however, he scored 9 goals. He also scored the fastest hat trick in the history of the Premier League when he scored three times in 2 minutes and 56 seconds in a 6–1 win over Aston Villa. 

The 2015/2016 season was another excellent season for the Senegalese star. He went on to score 15 goals, which included a hattrick against Manchester City. Mané finished the season as Southampton’s top goal scorer. He’d come a pretty far way from a 7-year-old with a football dream.

After two impressive seasons with Southampton, Liverpool signed Sadio Mané for £34 million on a five-year contract. This made Mané the most expensive African player in history at the time.

Mané scored on his debut against Arsenal. They went on to finish 4th in the league and qualified for the Champions League. He was awarded Liverpool’s player of the season.

In his second season, Liverpool made it all the way to the Champions League final, losing out to a strong Real Madrid team. Mané managed to score an equaliser in the 3-1 defeat, making him the first Senegalese player to score in the final of the competition. Mané continued his brilliant run of form, helping Liverpool to win the Champions League in the 2018/2019 season. This was followed by winning the English Premier League in the 2019/2020 season, giving Liverpool their first title in 30 years and their 19th title overall. He was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and named African player of the year. 

In June 2022, Mané joined Bayern Munich, in the German Bundesliga, for €32 million, proving that humble beginnings need not ever stand in the way of a talented football star with a dream of making it big. All they need is a CHANCE and the support to back their aspiration. The Sadio Mané story is not finished yet, and neither is that of the many other talented youngsters who have what it takes to break into the big leagues.