"He deserves the huge credit" - Wenger wants Liverpool forward to win the Ballon d'Or - originally posted on Sportslens.com
Liverpool emerged the Champions League winners last season after producing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the competition. The Reds lost the first-leg of their semi-finals to Barcelona at Camp Nou, but overturned the 3-0 deficit to run out 4-3 winners on aggregate after putting four goals past the La Liga giants at Anfield. Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk was rewarded with the UEFA Player of the Year as a result, but the Dutchman missed out on the FIFA The Best Player award to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Alongside Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and the Argentine, the Reds star is in running for the Ballon d’Or prize. While many are tipping Van Dijk to win it, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reckons his teammate Sadio Mane is worthy of picking up the prize.
Question: “If you had to vote for somebody now, would you, perhaps, go for one of the Liverpool players? And from what you have been saying, maybe Sadio Mane?”
Wenger: “Mane is an outstanding character, yes I would say (he deserves to win the award) because he is a fighter and he’s efficient. He’s not scared of anybody. At the moment you could say he deserves the huge credit.”
Arsene Wenger names his 2019 #BallonDor winner!
Thanks to @arsenesgame for their question. #AskArsene #beINWenger pic.twitter.com/bb5GlTlGlS
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) October 18, 2019
Mane ended last season with 26 goals in 50 games for Liverpool, winning the Premier League Golden Boot, but he only scored four times in 13 Champions League games. The 27-year-old scored 10 in the competition two seasons ago, including one in the final against Real Madrid and has established himself as one of the best players in the world. Shockingly, Mane missed out on the FIFA FIFPro World XI despite his amazing campaign, and many believe he should have made the Ballon d’Or three-man nomination list.
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