Sadio Mane returns to Ballon d’Or shortlist after three-year absence

Sadio Mane has been named among the 30 Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026, returning to the shortlist after missing out in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The Al-Nassr forward, 34, finished second in 2022 behind Karim Benzema – the best result by an African player since George Weah became the only footballer from the continent to win the award in 1995. Mane also reached fourth place in 2019, an outcome that prompted considerable debate.

His Ballon d’Or record began in 2017, when he was ranked 23rd. He moved up to 22nd in 2018, before making the top four in 2019. The award was not presented in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the football calendar, while Mane was not nominated in 2021.

Mane’s rise with Liverpool

Mane’s first nomination came after a year in which he scored 14 goals in 32 matches for Liverpool. He finished 23rd in the award won by Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of team-mate Philippe Coutinho, who was joint 29th.

The Senegal international climbed one place in 2018, when Luka Modric claimed the trophy. Mane had scored 20 goals in all competitions during the 2017-18 season as Liverpool reached the Champions League final, although he remained well behind Mohamed Salah, who finished sixth.

His highest ranking came in 2019, after the most prolific individual campaign of his Liverpool career. Mane was fourth behind Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Salah fifth.

He scored 22 Premier League goals in 2018-19 and shared the Golden Boot with Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Mane also helped Liverpool win the Champions League and reached the Africa Cup of Nations final with Senegal, leading some to believe he had a case for a place on the podium. His omission from the top three led to controversy, including questions over the level of support from African voters.

Liverpool’s Premier League title success could not improve his position in 2020 because France Football cancelled that year’s award owing to the effects of the pandemic.

Mane was then absent from the 2021 nominations, when Lionel Messi won ahead of Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho.

Second place in 2022

In 2022, Mane was rewarded for a standout year. He scored the winning penalty in Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Egypt in February, before lifting the FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool.

He scored 23 goals in 51 matches in the 2021-22 season and helped Liverpool reach another Champions League final and finish second in the Premier League. His move to Bayern Munich in summer 2022, and a difficult opening period in Germany, did not prevent him from being recognised for his achievements before the transfer.

Mane also won the inaugural Socrates Award for his social and charitable work in Senegal.

After one season at Bayern Munich and a move to Al-Nassr, he was not nominated in 2023, an edition won by Messi. He was again absent in 2024, when Rodri won, and in 2025, when Ousmane Dembele took the prize.

Mane now returns after three editions away, having been named the Africa Cup of Nations MVP after Senegal won the tournament on the pitch before being stripped of the title by CAF. He is not regarded as one of the leading favourites for the 2026 award.