Sadio Mané’s departure from Liverpool has not turned out as he would have liked.
Having won everything there was to win at Anfield, the 32-year-old called time on his career with the Reds two years ago in favour of a £35m switch to Bavaria. But while he would go on to win the Bundesliga title in his first season in Germany, his first campaign ultimately proved disappointing.
The striker made 38 appearances for Bayern, scoring 12 goals. However, he only made 25 Bundesliga appearances and 27 starts in all competitions as, despite injuries, he failed to find his best form. A dressing room altercation with teammate Leroy Sane would lead to the striker being suspended for one match, leading to suggestions that he would move on.
In the end, Mané would follow the flow of high-profile footballers moving to Saudi Arabia and join Al Nassr.
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Kopites farewelled the striker with a heavy heart, having seen him score 120 goals during his six seasons on Merseyside to lead Liverpool back to the Champions League for the second time since 2009, before helping them win six trophies and be crowned champions. from England, Europe and the world.
At 30 years old and with one year remaining on his contract, it is true that it was only a matter of time before the Reds had to consider a future without the striker. At least his fortune in Germany can console Liverpool bosses for the fact that they have enjoyed Mane’s peak years before selling him at a profit.
With Roberto Firmino already on the books, the Senegal international was the second part of the Reds’ attacking puzzle when he signed from Southampton in the summer of 2016. With the addition of Mohamed Salah the following year, Jurgen Klopp formed the finest front line in Europe that conquered all that came before them.
Mane was actually Klopp’s first marquee signing at Anfield as he sought to turn skeptics into believers, brought in at the start of the German’s first full season at the club. And his desire to sign the Senegalese from the Saints as he looked to bolster his attack stemmed from an earlier transfer error which left the Liverpool manager admitting he may have hit himself.
Having followed Mane’s progress since his impressive performance at the 2012 London Olympics, Klopp first considered signing Mane when he was Borussia Dortmund manager and even held talks with the then RB Salzburg player about a possible transfer to the Westfalenstadion in 2014. However, on that occasion he decided the player was not for him before quickly realizing he had made a terrible mistake.
“I made a mistake,” Klopp said. “We met, we talked but in the end I didn’t feel it. I like the player, it was more of a feeling.
“His baseball cap was askew, the blonde streak he still has today. He looked like a rapper just starting out. I thought, ‘I don’t have time for this.’ I’d say I have a pretty good feeling for people, but I was wrong!
“At Dortmund we could only get one player for this position, not two or three, so it had to fit exactly at this moment. About three months later he would have punched me, so I already knew that the next opportunity I got I would take advantage of.
“It was a pretty easy decision with Sadio. When the club arrived this summer and Michael Edwards said we had a chance, conversations were no longer necessary. It was a case of ‘Let’s do it’.
“Since I came here I have spoken a lot with the technical staff about him and I have always thought he could be a very good signing for us. He would have been more expensive if we had taken him to Dortmund and then sold him to Liverpool, so all good for Liverpool. The more I think about it, that was my first decision for Liverpool. Good!”
Dortmund’s loss was Liverpool’s gain, as Klopp made sure he landed his man in 2016, even stealing him from under Manchester United’s noses in the process. And the German would apologise to the striker in a secret phone call when trying to convince him to join him at Anfield.
“I have to say that I was very close to going to Manchester United,” Mane admitted in an interview with the Telegraph when remembering his decision to sign for Liverpool. “I had the contract there. He had everything agreed. He was all ready.
“I still remember the first time I received the call from Klopp. He was watching television. It was an action movie, because I love movies, and he told me: ‘Sadio, listen, I want to explain to you what happened in Dortmund.’
“That’s when he thought about signing me for Dortmund and for some reason it didn’t work out. He tried to explain and I said: ‘It’s okay, it happened.’ I forgave him. Then he said: ‘I want you at Liverpool now.’ And I said: ‘It’s okay, Dortmund is behind us, let’s focus on the future.’”
Eight years after his failed move to Dortmund, Mane belatedly secured a move to the Bundesliga, but only after enjoying his best years at Liverpool under Klopp. And while the German would inevitably have preferred the striker to stay at Anfield, he was at least able to correct the decision that left him wanting to punch himself all those years ago.
But while Mane will look to rediscover his best form with the Reds elsewhere, the chances of a big move to a high-profile Premier League club look dim. As much as Klopp would like to kick himself for not signing the striker the first time around, that itch was suitably soothed by six trophy-laden years on Merseyside.
And even if the 32-year-old were to return to the Premier League and end up hanging around his former club, new head coach Arne Slot cannot be expected to feel guilty about not making a move.
A version of this article was first published in June 2022.
