Three years after they last appeared together, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will meet again as opponents on Wednesday as Senegal and Egypt battle for a place in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The last four clash in the Moroccan city of Tangier will be the first time the former Liverpool teammates have shared a pitch since the Anfield club lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May 2022.
Shortly afterwards, Mane left for Bayern Munich before moving to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League a year later.
Salah, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the near future but will remain at Liverpool for now despite falling out of favor with coach Arne Slot before arriving at the Cup of Nations.
The leader of Egypt is a man with a mission in Morocco. He scored four goals in four appearances during Pharaoh’s run to the semi-finals as he aims to win AFCON for the first time.
Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to achieve a major international honor as his country has suffered the pain of two final defeats in the competition.
After being part of the Egyptian team that defeated Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, Salah led the team that was defeated on penalties by Senegal in Yaounde in 2022.
Mane had a penalty saved in normal time on that dramatic night at Olembe Stadium, but recovered to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Senegal became African champions for the first time.
Salah would take Egypt’s next penalty but was not given the chance to act and was already on the verge of tears as Mane prepared for the decisive blow.
Less than two months later the teams met again in a decisive World Cup qualifier and again penalties were required: Salah missed, Mané scored and Senegal won.
It then reached the last 16 in Qatar, while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup held in the Arab world.
Both have qualified for the upcoming tournament in North America, which may be the last chance for the two veterans to shine on the biggest stage of them all.
The pair played together for five years at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp between the arrival of Mo Salah from Roma in 2017 and the departure of Sadio Mane. | Photo credit: AFP
The pair played together for five years at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp between the arrival of Mo Salah from Roma in 2017 and the departure of Sadio Mane. | Photo credit: AFP
– Feeling the pressure –
For now, though, it’s all about continental supremacy as Senegal chases a third final in four editions of AFCON, and Egypt looks to move one step closer to a record-extending eighth overall title.
Mane, who also turns 34 this year, will feel less pressure having already collected a Cup of Nations winners’ medal.
“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” Salah admitted after helping his team beat Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
«I have won almost every award. This is the title I am waiting for.»
The pair played together for five years under Jurgen Klopp between Salah, who joined from Roma in 2017, and Mane’s departure.
They formed a formidable frontline alongside Roberto Firmino, winning the Champions League together in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020. There were also two defeats to Real in the Champions League final.
But Mane recently admitted the pair have sometimes found it difficult to get along on the pitch.
«I think Mo is first and foremost a very nice guy. I think even though he was on the pitch, sometimes he would switch to me and sometimes he wouldn’t,» Mane said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
«Only Bobby (Firmino) was there to share the balls. Sometimes it was like that,» he added with a laugh.
«I remember one match where I was very angry because he didn’t pass the ball to me.»
This time they face off for real, as two former African Footballers of the Year look to lead their country to glory – for the second time, in Mane’s case.
«The pressure for me is over. Before I won the African Cup, I sometimes played poorly because of the pressure,» Mane, who has one goal at this AFCON, admitted in the same podcast.
“Having all that on your shoulders is not easy,” he added, and Salah is well aware of that.
Published on January 13, 2026
