With every passing day, Liverpool’s epic Champions League final against Real Madrid is drawing closer and Reds fans across the world are eagerly waiting with bated breath.
It seems like a small village named Bambali in Senegal will paint the town red for an entirely different yet heart-warming reason.
A recent report published by The Guardian features an interview with Sadio Mane, who revealed that he purchased 300 Liverpool shirts to be sent to his village. He also claims that his family still lives there and that the entire village will drop everything on Saturday to catch the big game.
As quoted by The Guardian, Mane said:
“Nobody in the village will work this day. My family still live in the village. My mum and my uncle. They are all going to be watching. There are 2,000 in the village.
“I bought 300 Liverpool jerseys to send to the people in the village so the fans can wear them to watch the final. I will be going back in the summer after the World Cup and hopefully I will be showing everyone a winner’s medal.”
The Senegalese sensation also admitted that it won’t be easy to beat Real Madrid but he did say that a lot of people will be eagerly rooting for Liverpool to end the Spanish giants’ dominance in the elite European competition.
Indeed, Real are on course to win the Champions League for the third time in a row and Liverpool stand a solid chance of beating them this time. With an attacking trio as lethal as Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah taking the pitch, anything can happen.
Interestingly, both Real and Liverpool have merely secured top-4 finishes in their respective leagues, making it clear that their eggs are all in one basket.
Regardless, it is great to learn that we have a lot of support from fans across the world and let’s hope Mane makes us and the village of Bambali prouder than ever.