Sadio Mane has been performing well but his efforts have been hardly getting noticed. A reason for that is he is playing on a team with other high-profile players. That includes the likes of Mohammed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. But seeing how Liverpool is successful, Mane is unlikely to mind for as long as they are winning.
As a player, winning titles is only to be expected for someone like Mane. But as far as eventually looking out for individual accolades, the 27-year-old is unlikely to get that while he is playing behind the top-tier stars. One person who believes that Mane would be better somewhere else is fellow Senegalese Diomansy Kamara. He sees a bright future for Mane but he needs to make a critical decision somewhere down the line, ESPN reported.
"If Mané, one day wants to win the Ballon d'Or, he may have to leave Liverpool as the club are maybe not the best advocates for him, despite their outstanding performances," Kamara said.
True enough, Mane did fall short of winning top individual awards last season. But the fact remains that he was among the finalists, meaning he may need to show everyone that he can still play at a certain level. So far, his efforts have been helping Liverpool. But if a chance comes for him to be the star of a team, the production is more likely to be more.
This season, Mane has already accounted for 18 goals and 12 assists. He would have likely added to his production had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, the Senegalese winger had 22 Premier League goals for Liverpool who finished behind champion Manchester City.
His efforts allowed him to win the Golden Boot which he ended up sharing with teammate Salah and Emerick Aubemeyang of Arsenal. In the Ballon d'Or, he made it to the top four. Ahead of him was Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd) and van Djik (2nd). And as most know, it was Lionel Messi who won the award for the sixth time.
Somehow, Mane is falling short and Kamara believes he has a lot more to show. His talents are being wasted by Liverpool and a change of club could work to his benefit.
"Now he needs to continue to work, and maybe even change clubs because we've seen that Liverpool don't really play to Mane's strengths and people gave their votes to Virgil van Dijk even though Mane and to a lesser extent Mohamed Salah were equally in the running," Kamara said.
