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Sadio Mané: The Most Generous Athlete In Sports

June 22, 2022

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Hey Friends,

Sadio Mané is an incredible athlete. He has spent the last eight years playing for Southhampton and Liverpool in the Premier League and scored a total of 111 goals — that’s more goals than all but three active players during the same time period.

Sadio Mané’s Professional Career

  • Metz (French professional football): 2011-2012

  • Red Bull Salzburg (Austrian Bundesliga): 2012-2014

  • Southampton (Premier League): 2014-2016

  • Liverpool (Premier League): 2016-2022

  • Senegal National Team: Since 2012

He also won the 2019 Champions League, the 2020 Premier League Championship, the 2022 FA Cup, and he even took home the Premier League Golden Boot award in 2018-19 — that’s the award given to the Premier League’s top goal scorer (22 goals).

And after six years at Liverpool, he will join Bayern Munich on a $43 million transfer.

So what does this have to do with sports business? Well, all of those accomplishments are undoubtedly newsworthy. But I recently went down a rabbit hole and discovered that Sadio Mané has accomplished 10x more off the field than on it. Let me explain.

Sadio Mané is 30 years old today, but he was born in Bambali, Sédhiou, Senegal, a small village with 2,000 people located in the Western-most part of Northern Africa.

To say Sadio Mané grew up in poverty would be an understatement. The fishing village on the banks of the Casamance river is more than seven hours from the capital city. There are no paved roads. Cows and goats walk amongst the people, and many women give birth inside their own homes because the village doesn't have a hospital.

And for additional context, Oliver Kay, a senior football writer at The Athletic UK, traveled to Bambali in 2019 to watch a Liverpool match in the company of Sadio Mané’s family and friends — here are a few pictures from his trip:

And while the story of Sadio Mané’s journey from the village of Bambali to the Premier League is incredible—he left without telling anyone when he was just 15 years old, walked for hours, and took a bus on the seven-hour journey to the capital.

What Sadio Mané has done since becoming a pro athlete is 1000x more impressive.

  • His dad died because he couldn’t receive the necessary medical attention without a village hospital, so Mané donated nearly $700,000 to build a hospital.

  • He donated $350,000 to build a new school and gave each student a laptop.

  • He funded a new gas station, built a post office, donated sports gear to all the kids within the community, and even installed 4G internet for the entire village.

He also reportedly provides each family in the village with a $75 monthly support package and gives more than $400 to each high-achieving student at Bambali High School. In total, Sadio Mané has donated millions of dollars to rebuild his community.

Still, my favorite part of this story might be the reason why Sadio Mané has been so generous — here’s what he told Ghanian outlet nsemwoha.com back in 2019.

“Why would I want ten Ferraris, 20 diamond watches, or two planes? What will these objects do for me and for the world? I was hungry, and I had to work in the field; I survived hard times, played football barefooted, I did not have an education and many other things, but today with what I earn thanks to football, I can help my people. I built schools, a stadium, we provide clothes, shoes, food for people who are in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people in a very poor region of Senegal which contributes to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars, luxury homes, trips and even planes. I prefer that my people receive a little of what life has given me."

Now that’s just incredible. And to be honest, I don’t share this story for any specific reason. There is no link to donate, some of these buildings were constructed several years ago, and many other outlets have probably covered Mané’s incredible work.

But I’m an optimist by nature, and there are few things better than seeing a world-class athlete (that has made more than $50 million throughout their career) display this level of humbleness, kindness, generosity, and self-awareness to help others.

I hope everyone has a great day. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

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