Did You Know? 5 facts about Liverpool forward Sadio Mane
Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool vs Newcastle United - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - March 3, 2018 Liverpool's Sadio Mane celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Shoot! would like to wish Sadio Mane many happy returns as the Liverpool forward celebrates his 26th birthday this evening!
The Senegal international, who has 49 international caps for his country, has scored 16 goals and provided nine assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for The Reds so far this season.
Mane, who arrived at Anfield back in June 2016 following his reported £34m switch from fellow Premier League side Southampton, has now netted 29 goals in just 65 games overall for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.
The left winger has relished playing alongside fellow prolific forwards Roberto Firmino and star summer signing Mohamed Salah at Anfield this term, as Klopp’s men look to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League tonight, holding an encouraging 3-0 first leg victory over Manchester City.
And, to celebrate the Senegalese star’s latest milestone, here is Shoot!‘s five facts you may not know about the Reds hero before kick-off!
Three’s a Crowd
Mane is only the third Senegalese footballer to play for Liverpool Football Club.
Following his arrival back in 2016, the only previous Senegal stars to represent The Reds beforehand were Salif Diao and El Hadji Diouf, who were both signed by former manager Gerard Houllier in the summer of 2002.
Hat-Trick Hero
The Liverpool wideman holds the record for the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history.
Mane netted three times in just 176 seconds against Aston Villa, for Southampton, back in May 2015.
His rapid goalscoring exploits easily smashed the previous record set by Liverpool great Robbie Fowler, at four minutes and 33 seconds, against Arsenal.
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Great Britain and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey (Left) and Senegal’s Sadio Mane in action.
Even before his 2014 transfer from Red Bull Salzburg to Southampton, Mane played in England two years before his arrival.
The Liverpool winger represented Senegal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and featured against Great Britain (pictured above), during their 1-1 encounter.
Mane’s country reached the knockout stages, but lost 4-2 to Mexico after extra-time in the quarter-finals.
Hosting Honours
Senegal’s Sadio Mane in action with South Africa’s Dean Furman (left).
Mane’s £34m move to Liverpool in June 2016 made him the most expensive African footballer of all-time.
That was until last summer. Liverpool splashed out on fellow Africans Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita, from AS Roma and RB Leipzig respectively, before Villarreal’s Cedric Bakambu completed his whopping £65m transfer to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan earlier this year.
Arsenal Affiliation
And finally, a fact that will certainly warm the hearts of long-life Liverpool fans, Mane shares his birthday – April 10 – with the club’s all-time record appearance holder, Ian Callaghan.
No one has played more times for The Reds than former midfielder Callaghan, who scored 68 goals in 857 appearances in all competitions for the club.
So, Happy 76th Birthday to Liverpool hero Callaghan, too!
Liverpool legend Ian Callaghan.