Sadio Mane is one of the best Liverpool players of the current generation. The Senegalese forward, who joined from Southampton in 2016, immediately settled in and helped the team win the Champions League and the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp in the years that followed. Before leaving to join Bayern Munich in 2022, Mane scored an incredible 120 goals in 269 games. The legendary midfielder left his boyhood club 12 months prior to Mane’s arrival, so if the two had crossed paths at the club, Gerrard might have had a few things to say about Mane’s football “hero.”
Mane’s Controversial Pick For Football ‘Hero’
The winger selected a former Liverpool player
Shortly after joining Liverpool in 2016, the former Southampton star was asked to pick his football “idol” in an interview with the Premier League’s official website. Mane chose El-Hadji Diouf, a highly contentious figure, without any hesitation.“El-Hadji Diouf was one of my heroes when I was younger, so I watched him.
“He was a huge inspiration because he was a fantastic player for [Senegal] and also played for Liverpool.” He was among Senegal’s greatest footballers ever.
Not only did Sadio Mane's #PLIdol inspire him to play football, but also to play for @LFC… pic.twitter.com/8TUNux3WPK
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 14, 2016
Although Mane’s choice of a fellow Senegalese player who performed well for his nation in the 2002 World Cup makes sense, Diouf has a well-known past with some of Liverpool’s biggest names.
After his stellar World Cup performance, the former forward was signed, but he soon caused friction within Anfield’s senior leadership. Despite playing 80 games for the Merseysiders, he only managed to score six goals. The impact Diouf made on Gerrard is the biggest letdown in his Liverpool story.
El-Hadji Diouf’s statistics with Liverpool
Rivalry
Games
Objectives
Helps
The Premier League
55
3.
10.
League of Champions
5.
0
0
The UEFA Cup
8.
0
0
FA Cup
4.
0
0
The EFL Cup
7.
3.
3.
The Community Shield
One
0
0
Steven Gerrard and El-Hadji Diouf’s Relationship
The pair have aimed digs at each other several times over the years
Gerrard was quick to express his frustration with Diouf’s apparent lack of effort and concern throughout his time at the club. The former Reds captain viciously attacked his former teammate in his 2007 autobiography:
“I knew which players had Liverpool in their hearts and which were hungry because I was around Melwood and Anfield. Diouf only cared about himself. He had a completely inappropriate mindset. In my opinion, he wasn’t all that concerned about risking his life to help Liverpool regain their position at the top.
Being a very vocal person, Diouf took these remarks seriously and has been criticising the England great ever since. Shortly before Mane named him his football hero, he made one of his most caustic remarks, saying:
“Gerrard never came close to representing Senegal the way I did for England. He has never participated in the Euros or the World Cup. When I got to Liverpool, he assumed I didn’t respect the team because I just did what I wanted. But by making a mistake against Chelsea, he completely destroyed his team.
“It’s no coincidence that Liverpool has never won the Premier League. Nothing stays the same forever.
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