Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Twitter
Topics: Sadio Mane, Senegal, Football World Cup, Bayern Munich
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Sadio Mane, Senegal, Football World Cup, Bayern Munich
A statue of Senegal international Sadio Mane has been spotted in his hometown of Bambali.
The 30-year-old forward, who joined Bayern Munich in the summer after a six-year spell at Liverpool, continues to do incredible work in Bambali – a village in the south of Senegal.
Mane donated significant sums of money to help improve the conditions of the remote village, including a sum of £500,000 for a new hospital, and recently pledged a reported £200,000 for a new secondary school to be constructed.
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On top of that, he is said to have funded a fuel station and a post office to help locals.
To pay tribute to his hero-like status in the local community, a Senegalese artist has designed and built a statue of Mane which apparently shows him performing a celebration during the 2021 African Cup of Nations.
A picture of the statue in Bambali has been doing the rounds on social media in recent days.
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One fan commented: "It's not the best, but it's made from the heart I guess," while another wrote: "Nice body work but on the face, let them replace it with a better head. Anyway, wood maybe hard to work with, I think."
A third said: "It's all about recognition. Not everyone will have the privilege of being recognised and honoured like that."
A handful of the world's best players have been honoured with a statue, including Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.
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In recognition of his achievements, the 22-year-old received a sculpture that – let's be honest – vaguely resembles the talented forward.
Norwegian artist Kjetil Barane used a chainsaw to design the sculpture in Ålgård, which is close to Haaland’s home district of Jæren in southern Norway.
"It is a great honour for me to be allowed to make him as a sculpture, it's really tough," Barane told Norwegian outlet NRK.
"It is very nice to work with wood. You can see that it bursts and lives, it gets its own character," he added, pointing to cracks in the wood on the striker's head.
But weeks later and the statue was reportedly stolen after a disgruntled fan used a crane to remove it in the middle of the night.