Agbonlahor: “Why Mane Deserves The Ballon D’Or Ahead Of Benzema”

Former England international Gabby Agbonlahor has tipped Liverpool forward Sadio Mane to win the coveted ballon d’Or award ahead of Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.

Agbonlahor who is retired and is now a pundit, has claimed Mane deserves the ballon d’Or more than Benzema and that it was surprising the Senegalese is being overlooked.

He made the comments on Talksport podcast where potential candidates for the individual award were being discussed.

“We will probably look at [Karim] Benzema and [Robert] Lewandowski [for the ballon d’Or], but I’m looking at Sadio Mane,” Agbonlahor said.

“He’s won the AFCON, got a chance of winning the Premier League, has won the Carabao Cup and could win the FA Cup and Champions League.

“And he’s scored a lot of goals this season. I know we’re looking at Benzema, but if they [Real Madrid] get knocked out by Man City then I think Mane would be the favourite to get it.

“I look at the way the Ballon d’Or is given, it includes trophies as well.”

Indeed, Mane is so far having a remarkable season for both club and country. The Liverpool forward successfully guided Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year.

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In addition, he also contributed immeasurably to Senegal’s qualification to the World Cup in Qatar.

At club level, he has added a League Cup trophy to his cabinet this season after Liverpool defeated Chelsea to land the domestic Cup.

When it comes to scoring goals, Mane hasn’t done bad either. The 30-year-old scored his fourth goal in the Champions League this season as Liverpool defeated Villarreal in the first leg of the semi-final.

With the goal, he equals Didier Drogba’s record of being the African with the most knockout goals.

He has also registered 14 goals in the Premier League so far this season with only four players having scored more.

While Mane could be overlooked in favour of the likes of Benzema, Robert Lewandowski or even his teammate Mohamed Salah for the ballon d’Or, and indeed there have been calls for Benzema to be given the award, Agbonlahor could well be right as the Senegalese is having an individually remarkable season that should not be overlooked.

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