The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019: Top 5 contenders for the award (June 2019)

#4 Sadio Mane (Senegal, Liverpool)

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final

Sadio Mane was a revelation this season for Liverpool and is 4th among the top contenders for the award. The Senegalese international was in outstanding form as Liverpool chased Manchester City right to the last day of the Premier League, but finished second. However, all those disappointments were washed away when Liverpool won the 2018/19 Champions League on 1st June.

Mane finished the season with 26 goals and 2 assists from 49 games. He was a vital player for Jurgen Klopp in a season where Salah and Firmino didn't play as per their lofty standards. He shared the goal scoring responsibilities with the Egyptian, with both men ending the season with 22 goals and thus winning the Premier League Golden Boot, along with Arsenal's Aubameyang.

The Senegalese showed a massive improvement in his gameplay from last season, using his speed and skills to perfection and has developed into one of the most lethal attackers in Europe this season.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Amar Anand