Football is a sporting discipline followed by many people around the world. The latter transmits emotions that only the most keen can understand. The World Cup, the Champions League, the different championships, and especially in our case here, the CAN are competitions which transmit exceptional emotions. If players play the entire season at club level, there come times during the season when they must regroup with the selection in order to defend the colors of their country. But there arises a problem, that of dual nationality, pushing the players to make a choice. It is therefore not uncommon to see players who represent other selections when they could represent another. This is particularly the case for Senegal which has very great players who could have played for the selection, but who chose another. Let’s discover some of them here.
Benjamin Mendy
Born to Senegalese parents, Benjamin Mendy, fond of football like others of online games such as dice slotsopted for France with whom he won the 2018 World Cup. The player notably defended the colors of the AS Monaco Club, where he also revealed himself, before then flying away to England to play for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola indeed fell in love with the French right-back who had very good centering quality.
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However, his career took a turn when he was accused of rape by women. He was recently cleared of all these accusations and returned to football at Lorient, who chose to give him another chance. The question that arises is whether he will manage to regain his level in the meantime.
He could therefore have put his talent at the service of the Senegalese nation. But since he was born in France, he chose to opt for the French selection.
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Bacary Sagna
Born February 14, 1983 in Sens, Bacary Sagna is a retired former professional footballer. He played the right-back position and was recognized for his defensive qualities as well as the consistency he showed. It was in 2004 that the player of Senegalese origin began his career at Auxerre, a club with which he won the Coupe de France in 2005. It was from there that everything started and he was detected by the club of Arsenal. He then joined the club in 2007 with whom he played more than 200 matches. A key element in the Gunners’ defense, he played in the 2008 Champions League final and won the FA Cup in 2014.
It was during the same year that the French international joined the ranks of Manchester City for the next three seasons. Following his Mancunian epic, he traveled all over the world playing in Serie A and MLS.
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Under the colors of France, he competed in Euro 2016 among others and made a total of 65 caps with the Tricolores.
He could therefore have played with Senegal and put his talents at the service of the country, but unfortunately, he decided to represent the colors of France.
Patrick Vieira
Originally from Senegal, it was at the age of 8 that Patrick Vieira left his country to land in France. A big physical guy, he studied with young people in the Paris region via Dreux. During 1993, he moved to Cannes in the south of France. There, he made a few appearances for the first team and splashed the meadows with his talent. He is quickly spotted by observers. Very quickly, he was exported to Italy and joined the great AC Milan, he was only 19 years old at the time.
He therefore finds himself among stars such as Franco Baresi, Georges Weah and Paolo Maldini. Very quickly, he was called up by the Blues and he played his first minutes. While he lacked playing time at AC Milan, he joined the ranks of Arsenal alongside other Frenchmen such as Anelka and Emmanuel Petit. He made the glory days of the London club and is considered by many people today as a club legend.
You will have understood, Patrick Vieira could have represented the colors of Senegal, but unfortunately he was exported to France and represented the colors of his adopted country with dignity.
Leroy Sane
Born on January 11, 1996 and originally from Essen in Germany, Leroy Sané has links with Senegal, particularly through his father, Souleymane Sané, who is from there. His father had also given an interview to the media saying that the Senegalese Federation had not made the effort to recruit his son and that the latter could well have played for Senegal. But that never happened. Instead, the prodigy chose to represent the colors of Germany. He was first revealed to the world in the Schalke 04 club with whom he scored a few goals and provided many assists.
He then packed his bags and went to Manchester City under the orders of Pep Guardiola where his explosiveness and his dribbling down the left side made many people pale.
Currently, he has returned to Germany where he plays for Bayern Munich. If the first months were not very convincing, he has regained momentum and is once again splashing the championship with all his talent.
This is therefore a selection of a few players who could have represented the colors of Senegal. For various reasons, all these players opted for European countries. These talents could have raised the level of African selections and raised the level of football. However, the Senegalese selection currently has many stars in its ranks such as Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ismaïla Sarr, Edouard Mendy and many others. The team is also doing very well on the continental level, notably with their recent victory at the CAN.
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