Three years after they last shared the same colours, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah will face off on opposite sides on Wednesday when Senegal and Egypt collide for a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The semi-final clash in Tangiers, Morocco, marks the first time the former Liverpool teammates will be on the same pitch since the Reds’ defeat to Real Madrid in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final. Shortly after that loss, Mané left Anfield for Bayern Munich before sealing a move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia a year later.
Salah, meanwhile, has been persistently linked with a switch to the Saudi Pro League but remains at Liverpool for now, despite falling out of favour with new coach Arne Slot before the tournament. The Egypt captain has been in ruthless form in Morocco, scoring four goals in four matches as he chases his first AFCON title.
Now 33 and turning 34 in June, Salah knows time is running out to claim a major international trophy. He has twice endured heartbreak in AFCON finals — losing to Cameroon in 2017 and then captaining Egypt to a penalty shoot-out defeat against Senegal in 2022.
That dramatic final in Yaoundé saw Mané miss a penalty in normal time before recovering to score the decisive spot-kick in the shoot-out, handing Senegal their first-ever AFCON crown. Salah was next in line to take a penalty for Egypt but never got the chance, watching on in anguish as Mané struck the winner.
Less than two months later, the rivals met again in a World Cup qualifying play-off, where penalties once more proved decisive — Salah missed, Mané scored, and Senegal prevailed again. The Teranga Lions went on to reach the round of 16 in Qatar, while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup staged in the Arab world.
Both stars have since booked their places at the upcoming World Cup in North America, which may represent a final opportunity for the two veterans to shine on football’s biggest stage.
For now, however, the focus is firmly on continental glory. Senegal are chasing a third AFCON final in four tournaments, while Egypt aim to move closer to a record-extending eighth title.
Mané, who also turns 34 this year, feels less burdened by expectation, having already lifted the trophy.
“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” Salah said after Egypt’s quarter-final victory over Ivory Coast. “I’ve won almost everything. This is the title I’m still waiting for.”
The duo spent five years together under Jürgen Klopp after Salah arrived from Roma in 2017. Alongside Roberto Firmino, they formed one of Europe’s most feared front lines, winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, while also suffering two Champions League final defeats to Real Madrid.
Mané has since admitted that their on-pitch relationship was not always smooth.
“Mo is a very nice guy,” Mané said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. “But sometimes on the pitch, he would pass to me and sometimes he wouldn’t. Only Bobby was there to share the balls,” he added with a laugh. “I remember one game when I was really angry because he didn’t pass me the ball.”
This time, there will be no sharing at all. With national pride at stake, two former African Footballers of the Year will lead rival causes — Mané seeking a second AFCON crown, and Salah still chasing the one major honour missing from his glittering career.
“The pressure for me is over,” Mané admitted. “Before I won the African Cup, sometimes I played badly because of the pressure. Carrying all that is not easy.” Salah, painfully aware of that weight, will be hoping this time ends differently.
