On Wednesday last week, a very special evening at the FC Bayern Campus ended with a lot of selfie requests. After more than one and a half hours, Sadio Mané took his leave of the basketball hall in the north of Munich - leaving behind a whole load of children with beaming faces.
The 30-year-old took plenty of time to answer the questions from the youth players from the football (U11 to U15) and basketball (U12 and U14) departments. Whether it was about dealing with injuries, the differences to football in England or his favourite colour: In an open Q&A session, Mané answered numerous questions from the Bayern talents and also spoke about his youth in Senegal, his journey to becoming a professional footballer, and about FC Bayern, among other things.
I hope I can help the young players a little to become a better player, but also a better person in future.
Sadio Mané
"For me, it has a special meaning today to share my experiences with all these children because, as a young boy, I didn't have the chance to talk to a professional footballer back then. I hope I can help the young players a little to become a better player, but also a better person in future," explained the 2022 African Men’s Player of the Year, who answered almost all the questions of the more than 200 children and young people present in German.
Sadio Mané has been back in squad training at FC Bayern since Sunday - we spoke to him:
In addition to giving lots of tips for everyday life, Mané advised the youth players above all to remain professional at all times. That, he said, is the key to development and success in your career. "Back then, I didn't know how to behave, what to eat or how to become a great player. Today, I can advise kids to watch what they eat, get enough sleep, always be hungry for success and ambitious, but above all, to always stay humble."
It's very important that you get a good education.
Sadio Mané
The great importance of schooling is also beyond question for the forward: "I always wanted to become a footballer and did everything for it. But I'm telling you, it's very important that you get a good education."
At the end of the evening, the hosts, the Campus education team had a little surprise in store for the forward. To make his German lessons a little easier, they presented Mané with an FCB version of the Scrabble board game. He certainly won't forget this special evening in a hurry.
In our VLOG, we took you behind the scenes at the Champions League round of 16 first leg at Paris Saint-Germain:
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