Ronaldo Shows Interest in AFCON With Message to Sadio Mane Before Cote d'Ivoire Clash

• Ronaldo sent a message to Sadio Mane at AFCON
• Mane starred but Senegal have been eliminated
• Senegal were beaten on penalties by Cote d'Ivoire

Cristiano Ronaldo has been following the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire due to the involvement of his Al-Nassr teammate Sadio Mane.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner rejoined his Al-Nassr teammates last week as preparations began ahead of the resumption of the Saudi Pro League.

The league went on a break for the Asian Cup, which is currently ongoing in Qatar, with Saudi Arabia in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Ronaldo and his teammates will engage his longtime rival Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in a friendly in Riyadh on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

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While preparing for the upcoming game, Ronaldo took a moment to wish his teammate Mane luck before Senegal's last 16 clash against Cote d'Ivoire.

"Good luck mate," he posted with a picture of himself and Mane on his Instagram Story.

Unfortunately, the African champions suffered elimination from the tournament after the host nation defeated them on penalties.

Mane delivered the assist that gave Senegal an early lead on Monday night, but Saudi-based Franck Kessie scored late to force the game into extra time.

The former Liverpool strike joined the Saudi giants in the summer transfer window from Bayern Munich, as reported by the BBC.

Senegal suffers AFCON round of 16 elimination

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that African champions Senegal have been eliminated from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after losing on penalties on host nation Ivory Coast.

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Exactly, a week ago it looked as if the Ivorians were set for a humiliating group-stage exit from their own AFCON, but now they are into the quarter-finals after beating Senegal 5-4 on penalties following a tie that finished 1-1 at the end of extra time.

The Elephants scraped into the knockout phase with the worst record of the four best third-placed sides to advance, after finishing the first round with a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, their heaviest-ever home defeat.