Upon being named inaugural winner of the Socrates Award in recognition of his humanitarian work and also coming second in the Ballon d’Or, Sadio Mané (30) received praise from Bayern Munich’s Hasan Salihamidžić for what’s been an incredible year for the Senegalese forward.
“Sadio Mané is an absolute world class player and has great character,” said Salihamidžić. “He’s proven to be one of the most impressive attacking players in the Premier League and Champions League. He’s already very important to our team. So I’m very happy for him.
“Sadio deserves to be recognised as one of the best players in our game. Despite all his success, he’s always remained this humble guy who cares about others, feels responsible for them and supports them. This is also the reason why he was also honoured for his social commitment.
“You absolutely want to have this player and his qualities in your team. I’m convinced Bayern will experience great moments with Sadio in the future and also Sadio with us.”
Upon receiving the Socrates Award, Mané said: “I’m just pleased to be here. I don’t like talking about what I do, but I do what I can for my people and try to improve things in my country.”
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
