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This week, BBC Africa presents the five players nominated for the African Footballer 2018 BBC Trophy. In first place, Sadio Mané, the Liverpool and Senegal striker.
After scoring the first goal in Liverpool's 2-1 win at Leicester City in early September, Sadio Mane could have been happy to celebrate. But the modest 26-year-old Senegalese striker preferred to help clean the toilets of a Liverpool mosque. The image, widely shared on social networks, contrasted strikingly with the stereotypical image of the "pampered" footballer of the Premier League.
Mané is happy to be out of the spotlight, according to the Imam of Al Rahma Mosque, in the Toxteth district of Liverpool. "Sadio asked that no video be sent, he wanted to be discreet and did not do it for advertising," said Abu Usamah Al-Tahabi.
"He often comes to the mosque, he has a Bentley at home, but he comes to us in a banal car, so he's incognito, he's not someone who's looking for light. arrogance. "
This humility is evident in Mané
Prior to the Champions League final in May, he offered Liverpool jerseys to residents of his home town of Bambali in Senegal.
"There are 2,000 in the village, I bought 300 Liverpool jerseys to send to the villagers, so that fans can get dressed to watch the final," Mane said.
It was at Bambali that Mané witnessed Liverpool's famous comeback against AC Milan to win the 2005 Champions League final at the age of 13.
His home is never far from his mind.
"Sadio comes from a poor community, he's the kind of guy who will help, he has a lot of initiatives and helped build a mosque in his home village," Al-Thabi added.
The 5 this year's nominees are: Medhi Benatia (Morocco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Thomas Partey (Ghana) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt).
BBC
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