Made in Senegal: Sadio Mané Documentary Released

With the dearth of entertainment — or much in the way of anything good happening at all, really — in the world right now, people are in the market for something to distract or delight them more than ever. Sports fans in particular, accustomed to getting their fix once or twice a week, are feeling the absence of their favoured flavour of spectacle.

Transfer rumours can only nourish you for so long, and so football fans in general, and Liverpool fans in particular, can take pleasure in the release of Sadio Mané’s feature documentary, Made in Senegal today, on the Reds attacker’s 28th birthday.

Disregarding the existence of Lionel Messi, few, if any, players on the planet could produce a stronger case for the Ballon d’Or last year than Mané. With 32 goals, a CL win, an AfCoN finals apperance, a second place in the Premier League, and a stunning run of results that saw the Reds all but crowned champions before half the season was played, the Senegalese attacker was instrumental to it all, and few would contend the claim that he was the best and most important player both for his club and international team.

And yet, Sadio Mané is much, much more than his footballing ability. The documentary portrays the Liverpool forward’s journey, from his secret trial trip to Dakar, through his stays at Metz, RB Salzburg, and Southampton, all the way to his return to his village Bambali, where he has helped funding the construction of a school, and is in the process of building a hospital.

It is remarkable, heartwarming stuff, featuring a remarkable, heartwarming player and person, just the sort of content we need and deserve at the moment. The documentary can be viewed for free on Rakuten TV (if you can tolerate some ads) and is highly recommended for those who require a dose of sports-related decency right now.