LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, August 9, 2019: Liverpool's Sadio Mane during the pre-match warm-up before the opening FA Premier League match of the season between Liverpool FC and Norwich City FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Sadio Mane sends big donation back to Senegal in fight against coronavirus

Sadio Mane has provided significant support to his homeland of Senegal, with a large donation to a coronavirus committee and a plea to take things “very seriously.”

With football suspended in most countries, the priority at this time remains public health, with the outbreak of coronavirus reaching pandemic levels.

Senegal have had 27 confirmed cases so far, with two having fully recovered, with flights to and from France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia now suspended.

The Liverpool squad have pulled together to aid foodbanks on Merseyside, in an effort to support those in need during a difficult period, and now Mane has extended his support to Senegal.

The 27-year-old has donated around £42,000 to health authorities fighting coronavirus, and sent advice to the public, explaining: “Disinfect your hands as much as possible [and] clean your hands for at least 30 seconds.”

Mane urged his countrymen to take the situation “very seriously,” with his agent telling BBC Afrique that the winger made the donation “spontaneously when he saw the evolution of the situation.”

It is not the first time Mane has sent money back to Senegal, with Liverpool’s No. 10 regularly contributing to causes in the country he left for France in 2011.

In his hometown of Bambali, for example, he has financed the construction of a mosque and a school worth around £250,000, and sent 300 Liverpool shirts back ahead of the Champions League final in 2018.

But in this fragile climate, it is a fantastic gesture from Mane, who is clearly as outstanding a character as he is a player.