"A great player and a great person" - Yaya Toure makes bold pick for winner of 2022 Ballon d'Or

Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has backed Senegal's Sadio Mane to win the Ballon d'Or this year, as per Goal. Toure hailed the former Liverpool winger for his physical attributes, stating that the player rarely ever suffers from an injury.

Toure said that Mane, whom he knows personally, is not only a great player but also a great person. He said that he has high hopes for the player to shine at the upcoming FIFA World Cup. He believes that Mane will finish at the very top of the Ballon d'Or rankings.

Toure is widely regarded as one of the best African players of all time and was a key player for Ivory Coast. Mane helped Senegal to their maiden African Cup of Nations title in January, which helped establish his status as a legend for the Lions of Teranga.

Toure, an ambassador for the FIFA World Cup, was speaking to RFI and opened up on why he thinks Mane should win the Ballon d'Or this year. He said, via Goal:

"I see that [Mane] has chained a lot of matches, that he has suffered from very few injuries. He is hardly ever injured, he is very strong physically. He's also a good guy, a good person that I know personally. I want the best for him."

He continued:

"I hope he will have a good [World Cup] tournament and I hope he won't just be ranked high but win the Ballon d'Or. Sadio Mane is a great player and a great person. Sadio Mane has just been transferred from a big club to a big club, since he is leaving a big machine and a great coach in Liverpool for Bayern Munich."

---

Sadio Mane finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or 2019, can he improve upon that finish in 2022?

Only one African player has won the Ballon d'Or to date, with Liberia's George Weah achieving that feat in 1995. Sadio Mane and Mo Salah have been two of the best African players in recent times but have never achieved a podium finish.

In 2019, Mane was the best-ranked African player in the voting. He finished fourth behind winner Lionel Messi, former Liverpool teammate Virgil Van Dijk and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

He was a key player for Liverpool as they won the UEFA Champions League in the 2018-19 season. He was the joint-top scorer in the Premier League for the club with 22 goals alongwith Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Last season, he was part of Liverpool's FA Cup and EFL Cup triumphs. He also played a key role in the Premier League and Champions League campaigns as the Reds finished second-best in both competitions.

He scored the winning penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal in their maiden triumph. He also replicated the feat in their World Cup Qualifiers against Egypt.

If he can get his Bayern Munich career off to a good start and do well at the World Cup later this year, his claim for the Ballon d'Or will be very valid.