Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane breaks silence on marriage with 19-year-old girlfriend

Sadio Mane held a private wedding ceremony with his long-time girlfriend Aisha Tamba in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Jan. 7, eight days before Senegal’s first game at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) against Gambia.

Tamba, 19, daughter of an architect in Senegal, first met Mane three years ago. The couple kept their relationship secret until the marriage. They only invited family members, close friends and footballers to the wedding.

After the wedding photos of Mane were posted on Instagram by photography company Magvision, they attracted many comments and shares, with people congratulating him and also expressing their surprise, U.K. newspaper The Mirror reported.

Following the ceremony, Mane spoke about his wedding on Wednesday.

“Honestly, I am happy with the fact the president has congratulated me just as much as, well, I would say not just my teammates,” he told Daily Mail. “I think about all the people who have congratulated me and wished me luck so I’m happy and I hope that it’ll be okay.”

Senegal will start their journey of defending the AFCON title on Jan. 15 with Mane as their captain. The team are in group C with Cameroon and Guinea.

Mane was nurtured at the Generation Foot training academy in Dakar and started his career in Europe with the French club Metz. He later played for Red Bull Salzburg, made his name with Southampton and rose to stardom at Liverpool.

While playing for Liverpool from 2016 to 2022, he won many titles, including the Champions League and the Premier League. After that, Mane played for Bayern Munich for one season before moving to Saudi club Al-Nassr, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.