Although it was Karim Benzema who claimed the 2022 Ballon d'Or prize on Monday night, former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane made history of his own following his second-place finish in the final ranking.
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The most prestigious accolade on the night went to Real Madrid's No. 9, whose name was called out by his ex-coach Zinedine Zidane before an eruption of loud cheers from the crowd, with Mane finishing in second and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne placing third.
With his podium ranking, the Bayern Munich attacker has become the first African player since George Weah in 1995 to receive enough votes for a top-three finish, an achievement that seems to have gone slightly under the radar.
Weah remains the only African footballer to have won the accolade after his victory in the mid-1990s.
Mane enjoyed a spectacular 2021/22 season at club and country level, contributing to 29 goals in 51 matches as the Reds won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and playing an important role in Senegal's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations triumph.
The 30-year-old's performances saw him place above high-profile forwards Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe, as well as his former Premier League rival De Bruyne.
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For his outstanding community work, Mane won the inaugural Socrates Award at the ceremony on Monday.
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