“My Parents Told Me Football Was A Waste Of Time & I’d Never Succeed At It.”- Sadio Mane Reveals How He Defied His Naysayers
Sadio Mane is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club, Liverpool and the Senegal national football team.
Told by his parents he was wasting his time, the 26-year-old Liverpool attacker has certainly proved them wrong as he has made a success of himself through his skills.
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, the footballer revealed how his parents told him his pursuit of a football career was a “waste of time”, right up until he signed his first contract.
Mane has developed into one of the key parts of a dangerous Liverpool attack, alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. The Senegal professional footballer said his parents never believed a career in football was a possibility, urging him to instead study to become a teacher.
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“I was born in a village where there had never been a footballer who’d made it in the major championships.””I remember that when I was little, my parents felt that I should study to become a teacher. They thought football was a waste of time and I’d never succeed at it. I always said: ‘This is the only job that will enable me to help you. And I think I have a chance to become a footballer.”
“They weren’t sure about it because I was a long way from the capital and almost nobody from there had succeeded. So they were against the idea, and they never believed it, right up until the day when I signed my first professional contract.”
“For them, it wasn’t possible. They weren’t exactly wrong because it really wasn’t straightforward, but I wanted to realise my dream of becoming a footballer,” Mane said.“I gave it everything. It got to the point where they didn’t really have a choice, so they started helping me, and it worked. Today, they’re all proud.”