Sadio Mane sends 300 Liverpool jerseys to his village

Sadio Mane has sent 300 Liverpool shirts to his home village in Senegal for fans to wear during Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid.

The Liverpool forward —part of a fearsome front line alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino expects Bambali to grind to a halt as the 2,000 inhabitants all stop to watch him play in the European showpiece.

In 2005 a 13-year-old Mane found himself in a similar position as the village turned out to watch Liverpool’s famous 2005 Champions League final victory over AC Milan and the 26-year-old hopes to be able to return to Bambali, where his family still lives, with a winner’s medal.

“If you had said then I would be playing the final I would say it is something incredible in my life. Hopefully we are going to win,” he said. “My family still lives in the village. My mum and my uncle. They are all going to be watching.

“There are 2,000 in the village. I bought 300 Liverpool jerseys to send to the people in the village, so the fans can wear to watch the final.”