Sadio Mane failed to win the Ballon d’Or because he is African, according to Cheikhou Kouyate.

The Senegalese has enjoyed a magnificent year for Liverpool, winning the Champions League and arguably playing as well as anyone for the Reds.

Mane continued his electric form on Wednesday, scoring once and assisting twice in Liverpool’s 5-2 thrashing of Everton at Anfield.

Despite his brilliance, the 27-year-old could only finish fourth at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, behind Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Speaking to the Mirror, Mane’s Senegal teammate Kouyate gave his reasoning for his colleague missing out:

For me this Ballon d’Or is for Sadio Mane, there is no doubt about that.

Listen, if Sadio was a Brazilian or a European there would not have been no debate.

It would have been him for the award straight away and it’s not because I play with him at international level, or because I know him; it’s just what people who watch football feel.

Just go back and watch what he did for both club and country and you will see in between the lines that no one has been better than him.

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There is arguably some truth to Kouyate’s comments, with African players not always receiving as much praise as they deserve.

Mane certainly merited finishing ahead of Ronaldo in the pecking order, but it is hard to argue that he was superior to Messi and Van Dijk.

That’s not to say he isn’t an extraordinary footballer, though, and on current form, there are very few superior players on the planet.

Should Mane have won the Ballon d'Or?

Yes

No