Sadio Mane was initially seen as one of the bargain deals of the 2022 summer transfer window when he departed Liverpool for Bayern Munich.
Having won everything there was to win at Anfield, Mane, who celebrates his 32nd birthday today, called time on his Reds career in June 2022 in favour of a £35m switch to Bavaria. But while he would win the Bundesliga title in his first season in Germany, his maiden campaign ultimately proved to be disappointing.
The forward made 38 appearances for Bayern in his only season at the club, scoring 12 goals. Yet he only made 25 Bundesliga outings, and 27 starts in all competitions, as, not helped by injury, he failed to find his best form. A dressing room altercation with team-mate Leroy Sane would see the forward suspended for one match back in April 2023, with suggestions then emerging claiming that the Bavarians would look to move him on.
And that is exactly what happened during the summer transfer window, with Mane leaving Bayern to team up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. Media reports said the deal was worth around €39mllion as he became the latest high-profile name to head to Saudi Arabia. He has so far scored 15 goals in 38 apperances for Al-Nassr.
Having seen him score 120 goals during his six seasons on Merseyside to first fire Liverpool back into the Champions League for only the second time since 2009, before helping them win six trophies and be crowned champions of England, Europe and the world.
Aged 30 with a year left on his contract, admittedly it was only a matter of time before the Reds had to consider a future without the forward. At least his flailing fortunes in Germany can leave Liverpool bosses consoled by the fact they have enjoyed Mane’s peak years before selling him at a profit.
With Roberto Firmino already on their books, the Senegal international was the second part of the Reds’ attacking puzzle when signed from Southampton in the summer of 2016. With Mohamed Salah joining the following year, Jurgen Klopp put together the best front-line in Europe that conquered all before them.
Mane was actually Klopp’s first marquee signing at Anfield as he sought to turn doubters 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 a previous transfer misfire which left the Liverpool boss admitting he could have punched himself.
Having tracked Mane’s progress since an impressive showing in the 2012 London Olympics, Klopp has first considered signing Mane when Borussia Dortmund manager and even held talks with the then RB Salzburg player over a possible move to the Westfalenstadion in 2014. However, on the occasion he decided the player wasn’t for him before swiftly realising he had made a dreadful error.
“I made a mistake,” said Klopp. “We met each other, we talked but by the end I didn’t feel it. I like the player, it was more of a feeling.
“His baseball cap was askew, the blond 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 was I wrong!
“At Dortmund we could only get one player for this position, not two or three, so it needed to be exactly the right fit in this moment. About three months later I would have punched myself, so I already knew that the next chance I have, I would take it.
“It was a pretty simple decision with Sadio. When the club came this summer and Michael Edwards said we have an opportunity, there were no talks necessary any more. It was a case of ‘Let’s do it’.
