Sadio Mane’s decision to depart Liverpool has certainly caused debate in the footballing world. On one hand, the Senegalese was a key man for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, starting virtually every game, scoring goals for fun and in the best possible place to win further silverware.
On the other hand, he has played in the Premier League for eight seasons, won every major honour going at Anfield, and, having recently celebrated his 30th birthday, was well within his rights to seek a new challenge with nothing left to prove as, with his contract up in 2023, he negotiated the biggest deal of his career.
Then, of course, there was the Mohamed Salah factor. While talk of a feud between the attacking duo was always wide of the mark, despite the occasional on-field spat, they were inevitably competing for Anfield centre stage. And given the Egyptian’s superior goalscoring record, only one man was going to come out on top when it came to being Liverpool ’s leading man.
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Mane is a Reds legend. With Premier League, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup winners’ medals packed away in his suitcase as he departed for Munich, how could he not be? But as good as his record of 120 goals in 269 appearances for Liverpool was, Salah’s of 156 goals in 254 appearances is significantly better.
While both Salah and Mane hold aspirations for winning the Ballon d’Or, the presence of the Egyptian King would ultimately hinder the Senegalese’s hopes of winning any such individual crown himself. Therefore, akin to Neymar’s thinking when leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain to get out of Lionel Messi’s shadow in 2017, when the offer of a move to Bayern Munich came up, who still face the prospect of losing the wantaway Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, it’s understandable why it would appeal to the forward.
Having achieved every team honour there was to achieve at Anfield, by moving to Munich he stepped out of Salah’s shadow and was handed the platform to become Bayern’s piece de resistance should Lewandowski, as looks virtually inevitable, depart the club. Knowing the Bundesliga outfit will win more league titles than Liverpool in the years ahead, without the competition of a Man City in Germany, while both equally capable of winning the Champions League, future silverware is guaranteed for the Senegalese. And after also winning the Africa Cup of Nations this year, his star will only rise should he continue to deliver in Bavaria.
So a penny for his thoughts when, less than two weeks after his move to Munich, Bayern found themselves linked with a move for Cristiano Ronaldo. If you thought Salah’s presence at Liverpool was stealing Mane’s thunder, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Having seen Manchester United finish a dismal sixth last season despite his 18 goals, qualifying for the Europa League in the process, the legendary Portuguese has reportedly told Red Devils bosses he wants to quit the club less than a year after his celebrated return to Old Trafford. Desperate to be a European or domestic champion again at least once more before he retires, and now well-aware that won’t be possible with United, the 37-year-old is reportedly willing to take a significant pay cut in order to join a Champions League contender to make that happen.
Chelsea have held talks with Ronaldo’s representatives, but according to the Independent , Bayern Munich, and to a lesser extent Paris Saint-Germain, are both preferred options for the forward as he pines for this next move. And considering United would loathe to sell the Portuguese to a domestic rival, Mane could well find himself lining up alongside the veteran at the Allianz Arena this season.
Having spent the second half of last campaign playing upfront for Liverpool, scoring 13 goals from 25 games following his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, Mane had seemed to set to replace Lewandowski, who still seems certain to join Barcelona despite Bayern’s reluctance to sell him, as Munich’s chief goal threat this season. However, if the Bavarians are now attracted to the possibility of signing a cut-price Ronaldo on reduced wages, the Senegalese will again find himself reduced to a high-quality support act.
The Independent suggests the ease of a deal for Ronaldo could prove persuasive for Bayern, should they not be put off at the prospect of signing a second big-money forward on the wrong side of 30. However, having seen Lewandowski break goalscoring records galore well into his 30s, they are better-placed than most to know how age is just a number when it comes to such elite talent.
Having spent years playing alongside Salah, Mane could have found himself playing alongside Lionel Messi after the Argentine demanded Barcelona sign the Senegalese from Liverpool last year if they wanted him to sign a new contract. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain were also in the market for the 30-year-old this summer, only for him to snub the Ligue 1 giants in favour of Bayern.
But no sooner had he been set to finally claim leading man status for his own in Munich, having torn himself away from Salah, now he faces the prospect of potentially being dwarfed by an ever bigger shadow in Ronaldo.
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