Senegal head Coach Aliou Cisse has lavishly praised Sadio Mane, saying the Liverpool winger deserves to bag the Ballon d'Or.
"What he has achieved this year is a result of great effort over many years and winning the AFCON will be an extension of those efforts. It will take him a step closer to the Golden Ball, which I think he deserves to win," Goal.com quoted Cisse, as saying.
Cisse also hailed Mane for his 'great discipline' and 'high professionalism.'
"He has worked hard not only in the last year but since 2011, where I've known him to have great discipline and high professionalism. I followed him from his time in Austria and Southampton until he arrived at Liverpool," he said.
Despite performing brilliantly at club level, Mane failed to impress Senegal fans, who even booed him during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win over Equatorial Guinea.
However, Cisse called Mane a 'world-class' player and further added that criticism motivated him.
"No one can dispute the abilities of Sadio Mane. He's a world-class player and has proven as much. He's always talking [to me] about everything, even when he's with Liverpool," said Cisse.
"I've tried to help him as best I can but more importantly, he has self-confidence and he managed to recover quickly. What's happened [the criticisms] has motivated him to respond to everyone and I think he's succeeded in doing that," added Cisse.
AFCON will start on June 22, when Egypt will compete against Zimbabwe.
( With inputs from ANI )