Sadio Mane 'won't have honeymoon' with 18-year-old wife as 'family demand she returns to school'

Sadio Mane 'won't have honeymoon' with 18-year-old wife as 'family demand she returns to school'

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Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 12/01/2024

- 18:50

The Al-Nassr star got married earlier this month

Sadio Mane will not have a honeymoon with his new teenage wife because her family have demanded she stays at school and focuses on her education.

The former Liverpool forward wanted to go on honeymoon after the Africa Cup of Nations but Aisha Tamba will instead prepare for her final exams.


Mane married Tamba, whose father has confirmed to local media is 18 years old, in an Islamic ceremony on January 7 in Dakar, Senegal.

The 31-year-old has since joined up with the Senegal squad for AFCON, with the final of the tournament taking place on February 11.

Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane will not have a honeymoon with his new wife

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Tamba attends the all-girls Cabis school in Mbao, just outside of Dakar.

She returned to school this week and was given a hero's welcome in a video that has circulated on social media.

Mane's close friend Moussa Ndiaye says she will remain at school upon instruction of her family despite her husband's wish to go on honeymoon.

Ndiaye told the Daily Mail: "Sadio was hoping to have a honeymoon at some point either after the final, if Senegal get there or before, if they are eliminated.

"But Aisha's family want her to remain focused on her education.

"She has very important exams coming up and they don't want this marriage getting in the way.

"They feel there will be plenty of opportunities for holidays later in her life. For now, her schoolwork must come first.

"Even though she is now married to Sadio, who is the most famous man in Senegal, she is still a schoolgirl and needs to complete her studies."

Ndiaye has also revealed the role he played in arranging the marriage between the pair.

Mane first became aware of Tamba during his time as a player at Liverpool.

Ndiaye added: "I was staying with him at his mansion in Liverpool and Sadio said to me that he had seen a girl that he really liked who had come to visit his family while he was in Senegal.

"He never spoke with her directly on that occasion but said that she was the kind of beautiful girl he wanted to marry and that he was ready to settle down.

"He asked me to return to Senegal to speak to her and her family and give my opinion, which I did.

"I knew straight away that she was the right woman for him."

The Daily Mail says Mane returned to Senegal to tell his family of his desire to marry Tamba.

Mane met Tamba for the first time and her family agreed to the marriage proposal but insisted they wait in order for them to 'get to know' each other.

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Ndiaye continued: "Sadio then returned to Liverpool but he and Aisha continued to speak regularly on the phone.

"That's how they got to know each other and became close, they never dated.

"Aisha's dad already knew Sadio's family well because he'd been doing a lot of work for them as a building contractor. There was already a close bond and trust between them.

"Sadio is a very devout Muslim, he did not want a wife like many high-profile footballers have.

"He is a pious man and wanted a pious woman. Even when he was at Liverpool, he never behaved like the other players by going to nightclubs, drinking alcohol and chasing women."

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Sadio Mane is with the Senegal squad ahead of AFCON

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Eyebrows have been raised due to the age gap between Mane and Tamba.

But Ndiaye says it is not an issue in Senegal, adding: "Her age is not important. In Senegal it is quite common for older men who are very successful to marry much younger women.

"That's how it is in our culture. Whether Aisha was 15 or 16 when she first met Sadio, it doesn't matter.

"Traditionally in Senegal, when you see someone, you want to marry you speak to family and friends and the marriage is arranged through them."

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