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Sadio Mané whispers a mysterious message in the ear of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka… as the pair share a heartfelt hug at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony
- Sadio Mané and Bukayo Saka crossed paths during the Ballon d’Or . award ceremony
- The couple shared a long hug on the red carpet before the ceremony began
- Mane seemed to whisper a message in Saka’s ear as they hugged
- The details of the message remain unknown, but Mane’s words made Saka smile
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Sadio Mané and Bukayo Saka shared a close embrace during the Ballon d’Or award ceremony in Paris on Monday evening.
Mane, who now plays for Bayern Munich, attended the event after a strong campaign with Liverpool last season that saw him in contention for the top prize, while Saka was joined by Arsenal Women’s duo Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema.
Prior to the ceremony, Mane and Saka crossed paths and had a long hug. Mane seemed to be whispering a message in Saka’s ear the whole time.
Sadio Mané (L) and Bukayo Saka (R) shared a long hug before the Ballon d’Or awards
France Football tweeted alongside the video of Mané and Saka’s heartfelt hug
The details of the message remain unknown, but Mane’s words left Saka with a smile on his face as the couple went their separate ways.
France Football then tweeted a video of them hugging, along with the caption, “Sadio Mane x BukayoSaka87,” and a smiling face with a heart emoji.
Both men were in good spirits and Mane’s night would only get better as he won the first-ever Socrates Award, which is set to recognize the humanitarian work of players off the field.
The award is named after former Brazilian international Socrates, who co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement in the 1980s to oppose the then military government in Brazil.
Mané received the gong for his charity work in his home country of Senegal and went on to finish second in the Ballon d’Or rankings behind Karim Benzema.
Mane won the Socrates Award later in the evening for his charity work in Senegal
Meanwhile, Saka made the shortlist for the Kopa Trophy – awarded to the best player under 21 in the world. He finished in eighth place, with his international teammate Jude Bellingham in fourth and Barcelona’s Gavi taking the prize.
Saka has already backed up his performances from last season, scoring the winning goal in each of his last three games for Arsenal against Liverpool, Bodo/Glimt and Leeds respectively.
He has played a key role in securing the Gunners’ four-point lead at the top of the league table in the early stages of the Premier League season.
Whether Mane may have tried to convince him to move to his former club Liverpool is unclear, but the 21-year-old seems happy at Arsenal for now, and Mikel Arteta revealed earlier this month that the club is trying to tie him to a new deal in the Emirates Stadium.