Sadio Mane finished second in the 66th edition of the Ballon d’Or, ahead of Robert Lewandowski, and second only to Karim Benzema.
In what turned out to be his final season at Anfield, Mane had yet another productive season with Liverpool in 2021/22, helping them to a Premier League runner-up finish and a Champions League final appearance.
The Senegal forward, who won the Africa Cup of Nations at the beginning of the year and finished the 2021–2022 season with 23 goals and five assists overall, signed with Bayern Munich in the summer.
Mane finished second and took home the Socrates award for the evening in honor of his outstanding off-the-field humanitarian work. In his native nation, he has come to be associated with outstanding charitable work.
Mane scored goals in both halves of Liverpool’s Champions League semifinal match against Villarreal to advance the Reds to the championship game, where they will face Real Madrid once again.
He led Senegal to victory in the competition by scoring and providing an assist against Burkina Faso in the AFCON semi-final.
The 30-year-old finished particularly well and proved his value as a centre-forward as well as a winger, showcasing his exceptional ability once more in what was a difficult season for Liverpool and Mane as they competed on four fronts for silverware.
