At seven years he lost his father because there was no hospital in his village.

Many years later, he returned to the same place and built one.

The story of Sadio Mané does not begin in the most famous stadiums in Europe.

Start at Bambali, a small village in Senegal, where as a child football was much more than a game.

He played barefoot on ground fields.

And when the ball was missing, it was enough for me to continue the game.

He was only seven years old when a cousin rushed to him while playing.

He told him to come home right away.

His father was seriously ill.

The family tried desperately to save him, but there was no hospital in Bambali. He was transported to a nearby village in an attempt to receive medical assistance, but it was too late.

Years after Sadio himself would have remembered that reality with few words:

"We didn't have a hospital in Bambali. My sister was born in the house, too. »

That loss deeply marked his childhood.

He continued to pursue his dream.

His family did not see in football a possible future and tried to convince him to choose another way.

But he didn't surrender.

At fifteen years he left the village to pursue that dream that seemed impossible.

His talent brought him first to France, then to Austria and finally to England, where with Liverpool he won the Premier League, the Champions League and some of the most prestigious trophies of world football.

But success didn't make him forget where he left.

In 2017 he financed the construction of a secondary school so that the boys of his village were not forced to move to continue their studies.

Subsequently, he donated nearly $700,000 to build the first Bambali hospital, including a dedicated department for mothers.

Today this facility offers assistance not only to the villagers, but also to those of other 34 communities in the area.

His commitment went further.

He contributed to the internet connection installation and economically supports many local families through a monthly fund.

When someone asked him why he did not spend his wealth in luxury cars or private planes, he replied with a phrase that sums up his way of seeing success:

"Why should I want ten Ferraris or two planes? I'd rather build schools and feed people. »

For many Sadio Mané is one of the great champions of modern football.

For the inhabitants of Bambali is especially the boy who did not forget the pain of his childhood.

And that, once he became a man, he built the hospital he wanted to find when his father still needed to be saved.