"One of the Best"

Sadio Mane was gracious in victory after Senegal ended Mo Salah‘s dreams of lifting the Africa Cup of Nations, with a classy message shared to his former teammate.

Not for the first time, Mane’s Senegal prevailed over Egypt to book their place in the AFCON final this weekend, consigning Salah to battle it out for a third-place finish.

The pair were seen embracing one another before kickoff, and again following the full-time whistle after Mane scored the winning goal, with the mutual respect clear to see.

And the words of Liverpool’s former No. 10 were just as classy when he fronted the media after qualifying for the final, as he started by praising Egypt and Salah.

“[I’d like] to pay tribute to Egypt, of course, as I always said, Egypt, for me, is the best-ever team in Africa and today they showed it again,” Mane said.

“Wow, what a team! It was not easy for us, and we expected that because it’s the Africa Cup and we are struggling, but we kept patient.

“Facing these great players, especially Mo Salah, one of the best players in the world and, of course, he’s always giving his best for the team, it’s unfortunate for him today as well.

“But I just want to say this is part of football and yeah, just get up and keep fighting for your dream because we know I can’t be here to talk about Egypt otherwise I won’t sleep all night, but big respect for this team and I wish them the best of luck.”

It would have been easy for Mane to first discuss his goal that sent Senegal to the final, but he made a point to mention Egypt and Salah straight away, a nod to the character Liverpool fans know well.

In another interview with Okko after the match, Mane said: “He wished me good luck, I wished him good luck [after the match]. He’s a great player, he’s still my friend, of course.”

Mane and Salah played 223 times at Liverpool together, combining for 35 goals as members of one of the most fearsome forward lines in world football before the Senegalese left in 2022.

What team does Sadio Mane play for now?

Mane left Liverpool in the summer of 2022 and signed for Bayern Munich, but he was with the German side for only one season before joining Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

He is still playing for Al Nassr, who are currently second in the table behind Darwin Nunez‘s Al Hilal, and he calls the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Wesley teammates.

In three seasons, he has made 110 appearances, with 43 goals and 31 assists – and he has won just one trophy, the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023.

Before returning to Saudi Arabia, he will first lead Senegal against hosts Morocco in the AFCON final on Sunday, a day after Salah’s Egypt face Nigeria in the third-place play-off.

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