«Breaking News» Sadio Mane admits parents said he was 'wasting time' trying to become a footballer

Sadio Mane has revealed growing up his parents thought it was a waste of time trying to become a professional footballer - but a Liverpool flop inspired him to keep the belief.

Mane is the third Senegalese to play in the Premier League and the Liverpool attacker has opened up on his idols, one of which was former Reds striker El-Hadj Diouf.

Although not a Liverpool fan favourite following his feud with Steven Gerrard, Diouf played his role in inspiring Mane to becoming a Liverpool regular when no one believed he would make it.

Sadio Mane has admitted his parents 'never believed' in him making it as a footballer

Mane revealed that El-Hadji Diouf (left) inspired him despite being Anfield's pantomime villain

'When I was young, I had lots of favourite footballers, but Ronaldinho was my real favourite, along with El-Hadji Diouf from Senegal,' Mane told Bleacher Report. 

'They really inspired me. Those two players were examples for me as a footballer. They were skilful players and good dribblers who beat their opponents easily.'

Diouf had a dismal two-year stint at Anfield and was remembered more for his antics off the pitch than on it after controversies that included spitting, brawls and a feud with Gerrard. 

But with the Senegal man at the forefront of his mind, Mane never lost hope he could become a star as his parents pushed for him to enter education.

Diouf had a turbulent two-year spell at Liverpool and inspired Mane who is also Senegalese

Mane is a devout muslim and recently made the news for cleaning in his local mosque

'I was born in a village where there had never been a footballer who'd made it in the major championships,' he continued. 

'I remember that when I was little, my parents felt that I should study to become a teacher. They thought football was a waste of time and I'd never succeed at it. I always said: "This is the only job that will enable me to help you. And I think I have a chance to become a footballer".'

Despite making it as a footballer, Mane has always remained humble and true to his roots. The 26-year-old made headlines recently for helping to clean his local mosque soon after scoring the winner in Liverpool's win against Leicester.

He claims he enjoys the quiet life, spending time with family and friends and watching TV among other things, rather than being a 'party animal'

After scoring winner in a tight 2-1 win over Leicester, Mane went to help those at the mosque 

Mane joined Liverpool in a £34million move from Southampton in 2016 and keeps improving

'I'm not a party animal or someone who travels a lot. When I'm not playing football, I prefer to recover and spend time with my friends and my family. During the holidays, I always go back to my village to spend time with my family and my childhood friends.'

The forward joined Liverpool two summers ago in a £34million move from Southampton in order to improve and compete. He's made a lot of progress since then but claims there is still more to come.

'I've improved in lots of ways, and I'm really happy. That was what I was hoping would happen [when I joined Liverpool]. I think there are still lots of things that I can improve, so I'll try to keep working hard.'

Link article

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/12/sadio-mane-admits-parents-said-he-was-wasting-time-trying-to-become-a-footballer/
Main photo article Sadio Mane has revealed growing up his parents thought it was a waste of time trying to become a professional footballer – but a Liverpool flop inspired him to keep the belief.
Mane is the third Senegalese to play in the Premier League and the Liverpool attacker has opened up on his idols,...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca





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