Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford named Liverpool star Sadio Mane as the best African player he has faced in the English Premier League.
They may be rivals on the pitch when playing in England’s Premier League but there is only respect off the pitch between Marcus Rashford and Sadio Mane.
Rashford was asked to name the greatest African player he has come up against since his league debut in 2015 during a Twitter Q&A.
“I think there’s some great African talent in [the] league at [the] moment. Mane particularly,” Rashford wrote.
Rashford has faced top African footballers including the likes of Yaya Toure, Mohamed Salah (Mane’s Liverpool teammate) and Arsenal’s captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in England’s top flight.
However, it was Mane who stood out for the England international who has been in top form since last season.
Mane was named the 2019 CAF African Footballer of the Year and is regarded as one of the best players in the world having finished fourth for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
In the award for the FIFA: The Best Men’s Player, the 28-year-old Senegalese star finished fifth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.
Mane helped Liverpool reach back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, as they went on to win their 6th European Cup in 2019 by beating Tottenham Hotspur in the all-English final.
Mane finished as the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the 2018/19 season alongside Egyptian Salah and Gabon’s Aubameyang, winning the Premier League Golden Boot. This was the first time ever that 3 Africans shared the golden boot.
What made it more special was that all 3 of them are from different African nations.
Mane was highly instrumental in leading Liverpool to its first ever Premier League crown, ending Liverpool’s 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019/20 Premier League title.
