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A former Premier League striker believes his compatriot should have finished ahead of Virgil van Dijk in the final voting for the 2019 award
Sadio Mane “deserved” to win the Ballon d’Or last year, and “may have to leave Liverpool” in order to pick up the accolade in the future, according to Diomansy Kamara.
2020 was a superb year for Mane on both an individual and team level, as he helped Liverpool get their hands on three major trophies.
The 27-year-old played a key role in the Reds’ sixth European Cup triumph last June, and went on to add UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup winners’ medals to his collection.
He also shared last season’s Golden Boot with club colleague Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, scoring 22 Premier League goals in total as Liverpool finished just a point behind eventual champions Manchester City in the final standings.
Despite his impressive exploits in the final third, Virgil van Dijk was widely credited as the main man behind Liverpool’s success, as he picked up the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year prize before finishing second in the voting for the Ballon d’Or behind Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Mane placed a respectable fourth, with five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo ending up in third, but Kamara believes a fellow countryman’s performances warranted a higher position.
The ex-Fulham and Senegal centre-forward doesn’t think Liverpool play to Mane’s strengths, and would like to see him move on to pastures new in order to achieve his full potential.
“If Mane, one day wants to win the Ballon d’Or, he may have to leave Liverpool as the club are maybe not the best advocates for him, despite their outstanding performances,” Kamara told ESPN.
“He needs to continue on the road he’s going down, as he wasn’t too far from finishing on the podium, and even for me he maybe deserved to win it this year.
“Now he needs to continue to work, and maybe even change clubs, because we’ve seen that Liverpool don’t really play to Mane’s strengths and people gave their votes to Virgil van Dijk even though Mane and to a lesser extent Mohamed Salah were equally in the running.”
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Mane has been a standout performer for Liverpool once again in the 2019-20 campaign, contributing 18 goals and 12 assists to the club’s cause across all competitions.
He is on course to inspire Jurgen Klopp’s men towards Premier League glory, with the Reds currently 25 points clear at the top of the table with only nine fixtures left to play.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis has delayed Liverpool’s coronation indefinitely, and it is not yet known when it will be safe for football to resume.
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