Former Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao claims Liverpool must hand 'underrated' Sadio Mane a new contract after Lionel Messi previously voted for the striker in the Ballon d'Or.
Mane has featured over 250 times for the Reds since signing from Southampton in the summer of 2016, scoring 111 goals and registering 37 assists in the process. During this period, the 29-year-old has claimed five major honours including the Champions League and Premier League.
Also helping to deliver success on the international stage, the Senegalese star helped his home country to a first Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year after getting the better of an Egypt side featuring none other than Mohamed Salah in the final of the competition.
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Mane is not the first Liverpool player who has attempted to deliver this trophy for Senegal, with former Reds midfielder Salif Diao coming desperately close in 2002 after suffering defeat at the final hurdle to Cameroon.
Diao, who made a total of 61 appearances for Liverpool between 2002 and 2005, is delighted that Mane has been the figure to spearhead Senegal's pursuit of silverware but is frustrated by a lack of respect shown towards the Reds' forward despite all he has achieved for both club and country.
"The man deserves it [his success], and I call him 'the man' because we can put to one side what a great footballer he is to talk about what a great person he is as well," said Diao of Mane when in conversation with the ECHO.
"I think people forget about that and they seem not to see the person sometimes. That is very important in this world we are living in now. He has a great personality and that's why I think he deserves everything. For Senegal, we have been tracking that trophy for years and years. Him being the guy who brought it back home is just fantastic.
"Generally, African players are always underrated and we saw it the year he won everything in the Premier League and the Champions League. Even Messi voted for him to be the Ballon d'Or winner and they never gave it to him. He is definitely underrated and I think he deserved the Ballon d'Or. Him or Salah never get it, but we have to carry on fighting to make those changes. Things like that happen in the game, we can keep moaning about it but at least we are talking about it: African players are underrated.
"Mane has started the year very well with the Africa Cup of Nations and we are still on the run for the Champions League, for the league and I am sure he will carry on fighting."
The January arrival of Luis Diaz has prompted questions over the long-term future of Mane on Merseyside, with his current deal set to expire next summer. Should the club fail to reach an agreement to prolong his six-year stay, Diao is adamant FSG would be making a fatal error.
"He is a top-class player, and I think it would be a mistake for the club to keep waiting for this negotiation," he explained. "If the club had a clear understanding of what they want from him, they need to start discussions. We are seeing the same case with Mbappe at PSG, a great player like that ending up at the end of the season going for free.
"I want him to stay in Liverpool but, again, those are discussions between the club and agents. Probably they have started those discussions, but I would love to see him stay."
While Mane has established himself as a first-team regular ever since arriving through the Anfield doors, the same did not apply for Diao at Liverpool. The now 45-year-old was frequently played out of position by manager Gerard Houllier and saw appearances dry up on the back of his maiden campaign at the club.
He later worked under Rafa Benitez for a short spell following the appointment of the Spaniard in the summer of 2004, but preferred Houllier's hands-on approach while at the helm.
"I would say Gerard Houllier was more like a manager, overlooking everything around. He had good people around him like Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee, who were on the ground. He was more like a man-manager," stated Diao.
"Benitez was a little bit different because he came in, as we call it in Europe, as a coach and not a manager. But we have seen him growing as a manager over the years. When he [Benitez] first came to Liverpool, he was a coach and I think that is a massive difference between England and overseas, where people are usually referring to the manager as the coach. Here we call him the manager."
