Neither Messi nor Virgil should have won the Ballon d’Or, Cheikhou Kouyate comments on discrimination faced by African players

Senegalese professional Footballer Cheikhou Kouyate arguments that the Liverpool Sadio Mane should have won the Ballon d’Or but he didn’t because he is an African Player.

Taking dive in the amidst flood of the Ballon d’Or debate the crustal place midfielder has an interesting take. He believes that Mane’s heritage stopped him beating the Barcelona star Lionel Messi to the honor.

He argues that black African Football Players or any Footballer who belongs from a black African heritage neither get the credit nor the accolades they deserve.

The only thing they got credit is mainly for their athleticism, strength and physical endurance they bring in to the game not for showcasing their talent.

For me this Ballon d’Or is for Sadio Mane, there is no doubt about that,” Kouyate told the Mirror, He further added, “Listen, If Sadio was a Brazilian or a European there would not have been no debate.

“It would have been him for the award straight away and it’s not because I play with him at international level, or because I know him; it’s just what people who watch football feel. Just go back and watch what he did for both club and country and you will see in between the lines that no one has been better than him.

Speaking on how the Legend Messi itself voted for Mae in the FIFA World’s Best awards he said, “We all know that Messi is really good, maybe the greatest player, but last season, come on. Maybe it’s not just football that they look at because there is no way three people had a better season than him [Mane]. It’s just unbelievable how some people are judged but that is not fair.”

Mane who came found the fourth place with 347 voted from the panel of world Football journalists after Lionel Messi who won with 686 votes had helped his team to Champions League glory in June.

The 22-year old played exceptionally in a 5-2 win against Everton in the last Liverpool’s match.