Sadio Mane woke up this morning having led Senegal to AFCON glory last night. The Liverpool man was named player of the tournament after beating Mohamed Salah’s Egypt on penalties.
It was a hugely emotional moment for The Reds’ player and his country. The victory represented their first one in the competition.
As the symbol of the team and it’s best player, it looks like Mane was afforded the honour of the trophy accompanying him to his room last night.
Posting on Instagram, Mane shared some pictures of him cradling he trophy in his bed this morning. His gold medal still around his neck having presumably been there all night.
Teammates send their wishes
Although all of his Liverpool clubmates will have surely been delighted for Mane, there would also have been some sadness at the fact that he won it at Mohamed Salah’s expense.
The two Liverpool players shared a touching moment on the pitch after the game. The victorious Mane consoled his friend and teammate after netting the winning penalty.
It may explain why the public response to Mane’s brilliant achievement has been slightly low-key from his Liverpool colleagues.
Nevertheless, teammates including Jordan Henderson, Virgil Van Dijk, Adrian and the on-loan Neco Williams all made sure to pass on their congratulations to Sadio.
Former teammate Xherdan Shaqiri, who looks likely to complete a move to the MLS (The Daily Mail), was also on-hand to lend his support to his former teammate.
A blast from the past
There was a familiar face that we haven’t seen for a while in the comments too. Former Red Djibril Cisse passed on his regards to Mane. The Frenchman is still playing, aged 40, in the fourth-tier in America.
“Congratulations my brother” wrote Cisse in French in a nice moment between Liverpool Champions League winners past and present.
Mane showed superb strength of character to take the final penalty having missed one just four minutes into the games last night.
We’re sure he’ll be in for a brilliant reception both in Senegal and when he returns back to Liverpool later in the week.
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