AFCON: MANE RESPONDS AS REPORTER ATTEMPTS TO GET HIM DEDICATE GOAL TO 18 YEAR-OLD WIFE
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Newly-married Senegal forward Sadio Mane was put on the spot after scoring in his side’s 3-1 win against Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations when he was asked who he wanted to dedicate his goal to.
Mane tied the knot with 18-year-old Aisha Tamba shortly before the tournament got underway, but the couple are yet to go on their honeymoon as she had to return to school to sit her exams following the ceremony.
After rounding off the scoring in a comfortable win on Friday, Mane talked through his goal which saw the former Liverpool man score past Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, but then had to navigate his way through a potentially awkward moment when speaking to reporters.
A reporter asked; ‘Who do you dedicate your goal (to)?’
‘I dedicate it to Cheikhou Kouyate. I know where you want to get at,’ Mane responded while laughing.
Mane dedicating his goal to Kouyate comes after the Senegalese midfielder left his country’s AFCON camp to attend his father’s funeral after his tragic death last week.
But many may have expected Mane to mention his wife after scoring his first goal since their wedding.
Much has been made of the age gap between the couple, with Mane now 31 while Tamba is still only 18.
It appears Mane did not want to put his relationship in the spotlight once again, as he avoided mentioning his wife by name in the interview.
Mane’s best friend and confidant Moussa Ndiaye revealed recently that Mane first meet Tamba during a short visit home to Senegal in the early part of 2020.
She returned to her all-girls Cabis school in Mbao, a town on the outskirts of Dakar, earlier this month to a rapturous reception from her fellow pupils after her wedding.
Tamba is now focusing on her studies ahead of her final baccalaureate exams this summer, an academic qualification that students obtain at the end of their secondary education.
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