Samuel Eto’o blames Africans for letting Saido Mane lose Ballon D’or to Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona player, Samuel Eto’o has blamed Africans after Lionel Messi won the 2019 Ballon d’Or award ahead of Senegal’s Sadio Mane.

Messi had an impressive season but Sadio Mane is believed by many to have had a better due to the UEFA Champions League he won with Liverpool.

“If Sadio Mane won it and was on the podium, no one was going to complain because he deserves it and has been doing well and he had the best season,” Eto’o said as per IOL.

“Messi (Lionel) won because all the South Americans voted for him. I think the Europeans also voted for Virgil Van Dijk hence he was the runner-up.”

“Africans didn’t vote for Mane. That’s the big problem. African people have problems with other African people.

“We, as Africans, are letting ourselves down. We need to unite if we are serious about ending the dominance of the Europeans and the South Americans in the race to be crowned the best players in the world.”