Sadio Mane has revealed his disappointment after unfortunately missing his own party in Senegal to celebrate winning the African Player of the Year Award.
The Liverpool star was rewarded for his outstanding year in 2019 at a ceremony in Egypt on Tuesday and planned to fly to Senegal for a celebration.
However, the plane Mane was set to travel on did not get the necessary permission to fly over Tunisia.
As a result, Mane returned to Merseyside early to prepare for this weekend's Premier League clash against Spurs and was forced to miss the festivities in his home nation.
He said: "It was my plan to first fly to Senegal to thank the people of my country and recognise them for everything they have given me on my journey, but unfortunately we were unable to make the visit.
"Now we have a big match against Tottenham this weekend which I must focus on and be ready for, but it is true I am disappointed I was unable to return home to say thank you because of some problems beyond our control.
"So, I will return to Senegal as soon as possible because it is something very important to me.
"I will never forget what everybody did for me, everybody who believed in me and everybody who gave me the chance to play football."
