Mane Faces Ex-Teammate Salah in AFCON Showdown

Former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah will meet again on Wednesday, this time as rivals, when Senegal face Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations with a place in the final at stake.

It will be the first time the two players share a pitch since Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May 2022. Soon after that loss, Mané left Anfield for Bayern Munich before later moving to Saudi side Al-Nassr. Salah has remained at Liverpool, despite speculation about a future move to Saudi Arabia.

Now captaining Egypt, Salah has been one of the tournament’s standout players, scoring four goals in four matches as the Pharaohs reached the last four. At 33, he is chasing his first Africa Cup of Nations title after two painful final defeats.

Egypt lost the 2017 final to Cameroon, then suffered another heartbreak in 2022 when they were beaten on penalties by Senegal in Yaounde. On that night, Mané missed a penalty in normal time but recovered to score the winning kick in the shoot-out, handing Senegal their first continental title.

Just weeks later, the two sides met again in a World Cup qualifying play-off. Once more, it went to penalties, and once more, Mané scored while Salah missed, sending Senegal to the 2022 World Cup.

Mané, who also turns 34 this year, enters Wednesday’s match under less pressure, having already lifted the trophy. Senegal is chasing a third final in four AFCON tournaments, while Egypt is aiming for a record-extending eighth title.

“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” Salah said after Egypt’s quarter-final win over the Ivory Coast.

“I have won almost every prize. This is the title I am waiting for.”

The pair spent five years together at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, forming a famous attacking trio with Roberto Firmino. They won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, though Mané has since admitted there were moments of tension between the two on the pitch.