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Sadio Mane says that people would travel from miles around to watch him as a young player in Senegal, where he earned the nickname 'Ronaldinho'.

The Liverpool star - who last week signed a new long-term contract with the Reds - has scored 40 goals in 90 games for the Reds since his £30m move from Southampton in 2016.

He's become a firm favourite at Anfield, but that isn't the only time he's had devoted fans.

"I was well known in my village because everyone used to say that I played very well and like Ronaldinho, and they even called me Ronaldinho in my village!" he told Soccer Bible .

(Image: Andrew Powell) (Image: PA)

"People came to see me from nearby villages and cities because they had heard my name and they were surprised about how people talked about me.

"Also, people came from Dakar, the capital. Finally I got to go to the capital and I’d hear how people were talking about me, and they’d come to watch me to try to know me and of course, I was famous!

"Honestly, they never thought I was going to be football player. I understand them because before me the village had some great players and no one had the chance to become a football player.

(Image: Mike Hewitt)

But Mane adds that his family were reluctant for him to become a footballer at first.

"Those people who were very good at football finally lost everything because they gave everything to football and at the end they missed out on the chance to do other things. So, in this case, it’s why my family didn’t want me to follow in the same way.

"They wanted me to do something else. That’s why they were thinking I was crazy for saying I wanted to be a football player.

(Image: Richard Heathcote)

"They gave me the example of the players who were better than me and today they have nothing because they were following football, football, football until they got old.

"But I’m very glad that in the end I was able to make it and my family could see that for me it was the right decision to follow my dreams."