Liverpool forward, Sadio Mane has come out to say he is far behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as a football player.
Mane has been nominated on the 30-man 2019 Ballon d’Or shortlist alongside these two football greats, but the Senegal international believes he is not close to both legends.
Mane added that he knows he is still nowhere near achieving their level of success but will do all he can to get there someday.
His words, “These players [Messi and Ronaldo] are monsters. I think that I am still far away from them,”
“As I have said, I am going to do everything I can to come a little closer to them.”
On the Ballon d’Or, “Honestly, as I’ve said, it has always been a childhood dream of mine,”
“The fact that I am listed as one of the nominees is due to the fruits of the work that I’ve been putting in for a long time. This is more of a dream than an obsession, I am at the service of the collective first and foremost.
“And if I am able to distinguish myself amongst this collective then of course, the Ballon d’Or, has always been my dream,
“And when a dream comes true, it is always exceptional.
“All of the Senegalese people, my friends, my family, would be so happy, I would be so happy.”
“I think as I have said it has always been a supplementary source of motivation for me. Eto’o, Drogba, they are legends in Africa and to hear what they are saying about me, it is always nice.”
On his form for Liverpool, I think that I am modest enough. I still want to be at the top.
“I think I have a certain way of seeing things, living, that makes everyone around me proud. I think yes, I feel good like this, and others feel good like that.”
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