SENEGAL and Bayern Munich forward, Sadio Mane has walked home with the Socrates award at the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony which was held at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris.
The ex-Liverpool and Southampton forward became the first footballer to claim the honour which was named after Brazil football icon, Socrates, who co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement, in opposition to the ruling military government in 1980s Brazil.
The reigning African Footballer of the Year won the award for his contribution to his home village - Bambali Senegal. Mane built a public hospital and funded schools and families in his home village of Bambali last year, and also donated to the Senegalese National Committee to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I'm really happy to be a guest tonight. Sometimes I'm a bit shy, but I'm really happy to do what I can do for my people to make things better,” Mane said after picking up the award.
