Sadio Mané

Sadio Mané (born 10 April 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Senegal national team.

Known for his pressing, dribbling and speed, Mané is often considered one of the greatest African players of all time.

In 2009, when playing in M'Bour, he was spotted by scouts and later referred to Génération Foot, a club that he helped attain promotion to the second division in the 2010–11 season.

In 2011, Mané joined Metz which had a partnership with Génération Foot.

Mané began his professional career with Ligue 2 club Metz at the age of 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 league and cup domestic double in the 2013–14 season.

Later that summer, Mané transferred to English club Southampton for a club record fee of £11.8 million.

At international level, Mané has registered 41 goals in 105 appearances for Senegal since his debut in 2012, and currently ranks as his nation's all-time top goalscorer, and second in all-time appearances.

He represented Senegal at the 2012 Olympics, as well as the 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

He made his professional debut 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 was relegated to the Championnat National at the end of the season.

Metz set an asking price of €2 million for Mane, and he attracted attention, including from Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg sporting director Ralf Rangnick.

Having received several offers throughout the summer, Metz upped their asking price to €4 million, and he moved to Salzburg on 31 August 2012, the third-biggest transfer fee that Metz had ever received.

He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 31 October, in a 3–1 away win at SC 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.

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.

There, 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.

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.

Mané signed for fellow Premier League club Liverpool in 2016, for a reported fee of £34 million, making him the most expensive African player in history at that time.

Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino after the departure of prolific midfielder Philippe Coutinho, he helped the side 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.

Mané also represented his nation at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in its second-ever appearance in the competition.

Mané was born to Guinean parents in Bambali, Sédhiou, Senegal.

He wished for a career in football, but his father (who was an imam) forbade him from playing the sport as a child; however, his father died when he was seven years old.

At the age of 15, he ran away from his home village with the help of a childhood friend, Luc Djiboune, and went to Dakar to pursue his ambition of becoming a footballer; from that time he was supported by his family to fulfill his potential.

Mané then helped end Liverpool's 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019–20 Premier League.

In October 2021, he scored his 100th Premier League goal, becoming the third African to reach the landmark.

Mané finished fourth and second in the 2019 and 2022 editions of the Ballon d'Or, respectively; and in The Best FIFA Men's Player he ranked fifth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.

In the 2019 tournament, Mané helped Senegal to a runners-up finish, and a year later, was named African Footballer of the Year.

In the 2021 final, Mané scored the winning kick in the penalty shoot-out to give Senegal their first Africa Cup of Nations title and he was also named the Player of the tournament.

In 2022, he was crowned African Player of the Year for the second time.