Sadio Mane delivers heart-warming speech after winning Socrates Award
‘I am really happy to do what I can for my people’: Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane delivers heart-warming speech after winning the first ever Socrates Award for his incredible charity work in his homeland of Senegal
- Sadio Mane became the first recipient of the Socrates Award on Monday night
- The award recognises his accomplishments away from the football pitch
- He was given the award to recognise his charity work in his homeland of Senegal
- Mane said he was ‘really happy’ to be able to help people back in Senegal
Sadio Mane was the proud recipient of the first Socrates Award at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony on Monday night.
The award has been established to recognise accomplishments off the pitch, and has been named after the Brazilian footballer Socrates, who was well-known for his humanitarian work during his playing days. He co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement to oppose the military government in Brazil in the 1980s.
Mane was announced as the winner of the award following his charity work in his homeland of Senegal. The Bayern Munich forward accepted the gong in front of a giant screen showing him greeting people on his visits to Senegal, and he expressed his pride on stage.
Sadio Mane picked up the Socrates Award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday night
‘I am really happy to be part of you guys tonight,’ Mane said as he addressed the crowd in attendance in Paris.
‘I am really happy to do what I can for my people and to make things better.’
Mane grew up in Bambali, a small Senegalese village, and has looked to help those who still live there in recent years.
He built a £455,000 hospital in the village, and has also donated money to a secondary school, plus given free laptops and money to the highest-performing students in Bambali High School.
The 30-year-old has also put money towards building a petrol station and a post office, while he donated £41,000 to the Senegalese National Committee when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
Mane now plays for Bayern Munich, but also carried out charity work during his Liverpool days
Didier Drogba presented Mane with the award and the pair embraced on stage in Paris
Furthermore, he handed out 300 free Liverpool shirts to people in the village to wear ahead of the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid when he was playing for the Reds.
Mane was joined on stage by Didier Drogba, who was one of the award presenters on the evening.
The former Chelsea striker has also been praised over the years for his work aiding disadvantaged children in the Ivory Coast.
It would prove to be a very positive evening for Mane as he went on to finish second in the Ballon d’Or rankings behind Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
Mane won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup with Liverpool last term, while also lifting the Africa Cup of Nations trophy with Senegal, but he was pipped to the main award on Monday by Benzema, who triumphed in LaLiga and the Champions League in 2021-22.
Mane went on to to finish second to Karim Benzema in the Ballon d’Or rankings
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