Liverpool star, Sadio Mane has disclosed that he was ‘disappointed’ on Wednesday after he missed his own CAF Player of the Year party in Senegal due to travel problems which were beyond him.
According to Mane, he has now returned to Liverpool as he hopes to lead Jurgen Klopp’s men to victory when they take on Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this weekend.
TGM had reported on Tuesday that Mane was named 2019 CAF Player of the Year ahead of his Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah and Mahrez at the Albatros Citadel Sahl Hasheesh Resort in Hurghada, Egypt.
The Senegalese forward polled 477 votes, Salah got 325 votes, and Mahrez polled 267 votes.
“I am of course very happy and proud to win this award and I want to dedicate it to everyone who has helped me on my journey from the very beginning,” Mane told Liverpool’s official website upon arriving back on Merseyside.
“It was my plan to first fly to Senegal to thank the people of my country and recognise them for everything they have given me on my journey, but unfortunately we were unable to make the visit.
“Now we have a big match against Tottenham this weekend which I must focus on and be ready for, but it is true I am disappointed I was unable to return home to say thank you because of some problems beyond our control.
“So, I will return to Senegal as soon as possible because it is something very important to me – I will never forget what everybody did for me, everybody who believed in me and everybody who gave me the chance to play football.”