Father of Sadio Mane's new wife 'says she's 18' and ex-Liverpool star met her 'more than two years ago'
11 January 2024, 19:09
The father of Sadio Mane's new bride has said that his daughter is 18, and met the former Liverpool footballer "more than two years ago".
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Mane, who currently plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia following his departure from Bayern Munich in the summer, married Aisha Tamba in a ceremony in Dakar, Senegal's capital.
Ms Tamba's age had been unclear, with some reports that she was 18 or 19, and others that claimed she was actually 26. The age of consent in Senegal is 16.
But her father Amadou Tamba has now revealed that she is 18, and said she met her new husband over two years before their marriage.
Speaking on a local TV station, Mr Tamba said: "My wife and Aisha visited their (Mane's) family one day, and this is where he met her for the first time.
"He probably saw something special in her and his parents appreciated her as well.
"They came to see me. We discussed as per the tradition, agreed on everything and waited for this day to happen."
Read more: Sadio Mane, 31, breaks silence after marrying '19-year-old' Aisha Tamba in Senegal
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It comes as the forward prepares to help his national team defend their title at the African Cup of Nations.
Mane was even congratulated by the Senegalese President, Macky Sall, as he met up with his Senegal team mates ahead of the AFCON tournament.
"First of all, I would like to warmly congratulate our national Nianthi, Sadio Mane, who has just got married," Sall said.
"I called him up so that we could applaud him and wish him a happy marriage," he continued.
"May God bless your home and your descendants. From now on you have another job apart from scoring goals."
Mane earlier broke his silence on their wedding, laughing off any jokes about their marriage.
"Honestly, I am happy [with] the fact the president has congratulated me just as much as, well, I would say not just my team-mates," he said on Tuesday while speaking with local media.
"I think that all the people have congratulated me and wished me [luck] so I am happy and I hope that it'll be okay."
Mane scored 120 times for Liverpool in 269 appearances over six seasons.
He won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in a glittering spell with the Anfield club.
