Sadio Mané reportedly placed in the top 3 at the Ballon d’Or

Attacker Sadio Mané from FC Bayern Munich can apparently look forward to a great honor at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony on Monday evening. The Senegalese is said to be among the top 3 in last season’s best footballer election.

This is reported by the journalist Papa Mahmoud Gueye from the Senegalese sports portal Taggat. Mané, who will attend the awards ceremony in Paris on Monday evening, would be the first African footballer to stand on the podium since George Weah in 1995. Weah was the only African footballer to win the award at the time.

Since 2022, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded for performance in the pre-season and no longer refers to the calendar year. Mané won the FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool in the 2021/22 season, finished second in the Premier League and lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid. In 51 competitive games, he scored 23 goals and recorded 5 assists.

He also won the Africa Cup with Senegal in February and was named player of the tournament.

However, his chances of winning the trophy are likely to be relatively small: Real striker Karim Benzema, who won the Champions League and the championship in Spain with the royal team, is the big favorite for the Ballon d’Or.