Ed DoveJan 14, 2026, 06:46 AM
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RABAT, Morocco -- Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Senegal's Sadio Mané will renew acquaintances -- although probably not animosity -- when they collide in Wednesday's Africa Cup of Nations semifinal in Tanger.
The Pharaohs superstar must outdo his former Liverpool colleague, and an ominous Senegal team, if he's to get his hands on the prize that has evaded him throughout his career.
Many of Salah's greatest moments -- the occasions, the records, that ensure he will be remembered as one of the continent's best ever players -- were enjoyed alongside Mane, with the duo emblematic of the Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield and the club's renaissance after three decades without a Premier League title.
Indeed, Salah surely wouldn't be the Salah we know and cherish without Liverpool's move to pair him with the Senegal forward, and Roberto Firmino, to spearhead Klopp's fine side that conquered both Europe and the Premier League.
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However, Mane was also responsible for one of Salah's greatest failures as well, with the Senegal superstar the architect of the Pharaohs' loss in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final, netting the decisive penalty in the spotkick at the Stade d'Olembe, Yaounde, as Salah, yet to take his spotkick for Egypt, watched on.
At that point, the duo had enjoyed their greatest moments with Liverpool, while each had been crowned African Footballer of the Year, although both had already tasted disappointment at the business end of the Nations Cup.
For Salah, failure had come in 2017, in Gabon, when Egypt advanced to the final before being undone by Cameroon, as Mohamed Elneny's first-half goal was cancelled out by late goals from Nicolas Nkoulou and Vincent Aboubakar.
In Egypt in 2019, with the Pharaohs' hopes of gold on home soil already extinguished by South Africa in the Last 16, it was Mane who experienced final heartbreak, as Baghdad Bounedjah scored the only goal of the game -- a freak effort from range -- as Riyad Mahrez's Fennecs left Senegal still waiting for that first crown.
Then to Cameroon, and the edition that pitted these long-term teammates together, each seeking to make up for previous failures and to write a chapter of their African story to match their glories in Europe.
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The tournament belonged to Mane, even though his Senegal team took their time to stutter to life in the competition, scoring just once -- the Liverpool forward tucking away a 97th-minute penalty against Zimbabwe -- across their three group games.
Nonetheless, he was named Player of the Tournament, and, having finally ended Senegal's wait for a first ever AFCON crown, ensured the country's football reached a level it had never achieved before.
A case can certainly be made that that Teranga Lions generation eclipses the 2002 side that defeated reigning champions France en route to reaching the World Cup quarters in their debut appearance at the tournament, but there was no longer any doubt that Mane was Senegal's greatest ever player... sorry, El Hadji Diouf!
So while Mane achieved AFCON greatest to match his Liverpool successes, Salah was left waiting... a wait that continues until this day.
Of course, the forward could never inspire Egypt to a first ever AFCON crown -- that feat was ticked off back in 1957, with the North African giants operating on a different plane to Senegal -- but the tournament still remains a key missing element in the forward's legacy, particularly when comparisons are drawn with the Pharaohs' three-peat Golden Generation of 2006-2010.
By early 2022, Salah and Mane had already emerged as one of the most fearsome duos in the Premier League, winning the UCL in 2019, reaching the final in 2018, winning the PL in 2020, and also clinching the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup together.
As the season ended, they'd add the FA Cup and the EFL Cup to their collective honours haul, although signs of tension between the pair had been bubbling for a while.
While attempts to build this semifinal up as a clash between enemies, or a grudge match between old rivals are wide of the mark, there were clear signs of tension between the duo during their time at Liverpool.
"They were never best friends. The three of us had very different personalities," wrote Roberto Firmino in his autobiography of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
At Burnley, in August 2019, Mane was visibly furious when Salah, never the most selfless of players, opted to go it alone without passing to the forward, and after the Senegalese attacker was substituted, he had to be physically restrained on the bench.
Klopp later acknowledged that the pair were 'angry' but that it was 'just football'.
However, the incident wasn't mere competitive frustration, it was evidence of a deeper exasperation on Mane's behalf, of a build-up of annoyance towards the increasingly individualistic Salah.
Mane defended his actions, suggesting it was just because of the pair's competitive determination, whether for the collective good or individual prizes, but increasingly, ego began to play a part as the duo matured and their perspectives evolved.
"Yes, there was tension with Sadio," Salah told L'Equipe retrospectively, "but we were professional until the end. I don't think it affected the team.
"It's human to want more, I understand that, he's a competitor. Off the pitch, we weren't very close, but we always respected each other."
In his autobiography, 'Si Señor', Firmino shed light on the dynamic between the pair in the Liverpool dressing room.
"They were never best friends. The three of us had very different personalities, Mane the most explosive, my role as peacemaker, unifier," he began.
"It was rare to see the two of them talking, but they never severed ties, always acted with the utmost professionalism."
Indeed, perhaps rather than being a criticism of the pair's collaboration, perhaps their ability to achieve success at Anfield despite their frosty relations ought to be further testament to the duo's seriousness, ambition and, as Firmino says, professionalism.
Months after Mane's AFCON final victory over Salah and Egypt, the Teranga Lions again met the Pharaohs -- this time in the World Cup qualifying playoff -- and yet again, it was settled on penalties.
With lasers aplenty seeking to distract him at the newly inaugurated stadium in Diamniadio, Salah did step up, but was only able to fire his spotkick over the bar, with Mane again converting the decisive penalty to send the West Africans through to the tournament in Qatar instead.
Two crunch clashes with the heaviest of stakes, and both wins by Mane, while Senegal also prevailed in the 2014 AFCON qualifying matches between the pair, where the celebrated duo featured before they were yet to become club mates on Merseyside.
When it mattered, Mane won, with that 2021 final defeat -- denying Salah the chance to conquer the continent -- among the bitterest failures of the Egypt man's career.
The 33-year-old has enjoyed the greatest successes of his Anfield days alongside Mane, but now he must overcome his old teammate and rival if he's to keep hope alive of a third AFCON final, and potentially a first ever continental crown.