Sadio Mane has revealed growing up his parents thought it was a waste of time trying to become a professional footballer - but a Liverpool flop inspired him to keep the belief.
Mane has opened up on his idols, one of which was former Reds striker El-Hadj Diouf.
Although not a Liverpool fan favourite following his feud with Steven Gerrard, Diouf played his role in inspiring Mane to becoming a Liverpool regular when no one believed he would make it.
'When I was young, I had lots of favourite footballers, but Ronaldinho was my real favourite, along with El-Hadji Diouf from Senegal,' Mane told Bleacher Report.
'They really inspired me. Those two players were examples for me as a footballer. They were skilful players and good dribblers who beat their opponents easily.'
Diouf had a dismal two-year stint at Anfield and was remembered more for his antics off the pitch than on it after controversies that included spitting, brawls and a feud with Gerrard.
But with the Senegal man at the forefront of his mind, Mane never lost hope he could become a star as his parents pushed for him to enter education.
'I was born in a village where there had never been a footballer who'd made it in the major championships,' he continued.
'I remember that when I was little, my parents felt that I should study to become a teacher. They thought football was a waste of time and I'd never succeed at it. I always said: "This is the only job that will enable me to help you. And I think I have a chance to become a footballer".'
Despite making it as a footballer, Mane has always remained humble and true to his roots. The 26-year-old made headlines recently for helping to clean his local mosque soon after scoring the winner in Liverpool's win against Leicester.
He claims he enjoys the quiet life, spending time with family and friends and watching TV among other things, rather than being a 'party animal'
'I'm not a party animal or someone who travels a lot. When I'm not playing football, I prefer to recover and spend time with my friends and my family. During the holidays, I always go back to my village to spend time with my family and my childhood friends.'
The forward joined Liverpool two summers ago in a £34million move from Southampton in order to improve and compete. He's made a lot of progress since then but claims there is still more to come.
'I've improved in lots of ways, and I'm really happy. That was what I was hoping would happen [when I joined Liverpool]. I think there are still lots of things that I can improve, so I'll try to keep working hard.'
Wemcklnsz
75
Hope i could achieve same dreams like mane bc i love football so much but my parents prefer i study bc they think i am better in education than football of which my left leg can cause me to play for Barcelona some day.
Tituspeacekalunga
61
true Mane,you can't make it on your on,we just follow those who started that career and we improve it in working hard
Mista7
55
You need the approval of others to make your dreams come true. They may not believe you initially but you get there finally, they stand in awe. Now the parents would be proud of him.
Gunnersincebirth
54
Mane's story teaches us one thing 👇
KingDrew
39
So true few parents always have a way of being short sighted and not helping their kids discover the potentials in them but when the money starts coming they always wanna be proud of their sons😅😅😅#YnwaForEver