Liverpool’s Sadio Mane sent home 300 shirts for Champions League final. (Source: Reuters)
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane sent 300 club shirts back home to his village Bambali of 2000 inhabitants in Senegal so that the fans could wear the jersey and watch the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid taking place in Kiev, Ukraine.
Speaking on why he sent 300 shirts home, Mane was quoted by AFP as saying, “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. My family still live 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.”
Remembering his childhood when he saw Liverpool’s title victory against AC Milan in 2005 Champions League final, Mane said, “I remember AC Milan v Liverpool. Three-nil down, then 3-3 and penalties. This was a big memory for me. I was watching in my village. I was not supporting Liverpool at this time. I was a Barcelona fan. I remember being with my friend, a big friend of mine, and at 3-0 down he was completely out.”
“He stopped watching until the end and ran like crazy to get away. Then he came back at the end and he could not believe (it). He is a big Liverpool fan. He is still in Senegal. He asked me that this time do not be 3-0 down,” he said.
Mane’s hometown is expected to come to a standstill as Liverpool look to claim a sixth European Cup in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium. Hoping to return back with a medal, Mane added, “Nobody in the village will work this day (Saturday). I will be going back in the summer after the World Cup and hopefully I will be showing everyone a medal.”