Liverpool star striker Sadio Mane deserved to at least finish inside the top three for the candidates to win the Ballon d’Or, according to his Senegal team-mate Idrissa Gueye.
Barcelona and Argentina talisman Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d’Or on Monday and Mane finished in fourth place behind Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk and Juventus winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Paris Saint-Germain and Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye has explained that it was unjust on Mane as the 27-year-old deserved more following his stellar year.
After PSG’s 2-0 win over Nantes on Wednesday, Gueye spoke to reporters and said that according to him, Mane at least deserves a podium finish, “He deserved to be on the podium. For me, he deserved the Ballon d’Or or at least the podium. Unfortunately, he is fourth and that’s a shame. I feel sad for him. It is a source of pride for all of Senegal. With what he did last season, he really deserved better.”
Mane captained his national side the finals of the AFCON earlier in the summer and also played a crucial part for Liverpool in their Champions League triumph back in June.
The Liverpool forward also upped his game and topped the goalscoring charts in England’s top-flight winning the Golden Boot after scoring 22 times for the Reds.
And once again, Mane showed his class for the Merseyside giants on Wednesday, scoring once and providing two assists in a 5-2 derby win against Everton at Anfield.
Having scored 13 goals already and provided a further four more assists in 21 games across all competitions this season, Mane is blazing the trail for the Premier League table-toppers in the hope to end the Anfield faithful’s 30 years wait for a Premiership.
