On Wednesday, Gabby Agbonlahor touted Sadio Mane as a potential Ballon d’or winner for Liverpool.
The former Aston Villa striker claimed that the Liverpool attacker was ‘above Mohamed Salah’ in the rankings and suggested that a Champions League win for the Reds this season, combined with his Africa Cup of Nations success, could make Mane a legitimate candidate.
And then last night, the former Southampton player went and scored his 20th of the season across all competitions as Jurgen Klopp’s outfit beat Villarreal in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final at Anfield.
Asked by reporters after the game if the 30-year-old could consider himself a genuine candidate to win football’s most coveted individual award, the German manager told the Reds’ official website:
He said: “Wow! He plays an outstanding season, Sadio is an outstanding player, I have nothing to do with the Ballon d’Or nomination and all these kind of things, I don’t understand it really 100 per cent.
“He is world-class and played again a really good game for us. I don’t know exactly how you come to that question now, the season is not even over.”
To be honest, it is a little premature to be talking about the Ballon d’Or and the Liverpool boss’s response is the appropriate one.
If Spanish media want to give the award to Karim Benzema already then that’s fair enough, but Klopp is right in saying that more often than not it’s based on trophies.
And the French hitman, despite his influence on Real’s Champions League campaign this season, hasn’t won anything yet.
Even the Liverpool star has an Africa Cup of Nations under his belt, which does add weight to his potential bid, but if Klopp’s side don’t win anything else between now and the end of the season then no, the Ballon d’Or won’t be going to Mane or any player on Merseyside.
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