A
s his first full calendar
year as a Liverpool player
draws to a close, Sadio
Mane has every reason to be
satisfied with his work.
He ended his debut season
with the Reds by being named
as the club's player of the
year by fans and team-mates
alike back in May. The current
campaign started with the
attacker claiming the Premier
League player of the month
award for August and the year
ended with a shortlisting for
the Ballon d'Or.
Along with Liverpool team-
mate Philippe Coutinho, he
was on the 30-strong list forthe award given to the best-
performing player in the world
and won by Real Madrid
forward Cristiano Ronaldo for
the fifth time. Mane finished
23rd in the final rankings for
France Football magazine's
prestigious gong with Coutinho
six behind him in 29th position.
“I was very happy to be on the
shortlist because that is a good
sign for me,” he says. “It shows
that I am in a good way and this
is also a big motivation for me
to keep on trying to get better
and better. When I was first told
I was on that list, my reaction
was 'Wow!' and I was very
happy. I was at home talking toa friend when somebody texted
to tell me. I was surprised and
checked on the TV!
“I was also very happy for
Philippe because he is one of
the best players around so his
[shortlisting] wasn't a surprise
for me! I think this is normal
for him. He is a great player
and deserves it. I really enjoy
playing alongside him and I am
very happy to have him in our
squad.”
Though Sadio has carried his
strong form from last season
into this, his campaign has been
a little stop-start. First there
was the three-match ban for
his unfortunate dismissal atAfter a stop-start first half to the season Sadio is looking forward to 2018
HAPPY
RETURNS
MANE