When you think of Premier League heroes, those players who are considered among the elite who have graced England’s top-flight, you may think of the likes of Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs etc.
But for Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, who he rates as his Premier League hero, it is a rather more unorthodox, perhaps controversial choice.
Mane revealed that when he was growing up, he looked up to former Liverpool striker, El-Hadji Diouf. The Senegalese striker played for the Reds between 2002-2005, and was hardly the most popular person on Merseyside during his time there.
Part of that is because much-maligned Diouf dared to criticise Liverpool legend Gerrard, even going so far as to accuse the former England midfielder of racism. He also the only man to wear Liverpool’s number nine shirt to go a whole season without scoring.
Despite this, and Diouf’s chequered history in English football, which includes incidents involving spitting and run-ins with the police, Mane looks up to the two-time African Footballer of the Year.
Mane told the Premier League website: “When I was young I was watching El-Hadji Diouf as he was one of my heroes.
“He also played for Liverpool and he was a big motivation because he was a great player for (Senegal).
“He was one of the best ever players for Senegal.”
By Steve Osborne                @BlizzardSteve75
