Sadio Mane would do well to take heed of Emre Can's career since he bid farewell to Liverpool.
Mane is said to have informed Reds bosses of his intention to walk away from the club this summer with just a year left to run on his Anfield contract. His comments during a post-match interview in the wake of last weekend's heart-breaking Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid felt particularly pointed.
"I think it’s a tricky one the game tonight, we are disappointed - the fans have been amazing, I want to thank them for everything and the boss, I wish this team all the success in the world." The tone of Mane's comments certainly feel like he is gearing up to say goodbye after six years in the red half of Merseyside.
However, perhaps the 30-year-old may wish to refer to previous remarks made by a former teammate of his in Can after his assessment of why he left Liverpool has since come back to haunt him amid the Reds' recent success.
The German midfielder joined Liverpool in 2014 only to allow his contract to run down in 2018 and leave without seeing Jurgen Klopp's men receive any kind of compensation for his departure. Given the timing of his exit and the trajectory Liverpool were clearly on, it came as a surprise to so many as to why Can was so keen on leaving.
It came as even more of a shock when he eventually declared that his reasoning stemmed from a desire to win titles. "I had a lot of offers from very good teams," Can told the Liverpool Echo. "The club [ Juventus ] had good contact with my agent for many years.
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"I just know how huge the club is and the mentality of the club - they want to win titles. That's my mentality too. I came here to win titles. I think the first target has to be to win Serie A and then comes the Champions League. That has to be our aim. I am here to help the team."
Can won two league titles in Italy, but that hardly come as much of a shock given Juventus had already won the prior six Serie A titles before his arrival. In Europe, they continued to drastically underachieve until he was allowed to leave for Borussia Dortmund just two years after he joined.
In stark contrast, Liverpool won the Champions League the season after he left before lifting their first league title for 30 years the following campaign. FA Cup and Carabao Cup glory has also since followed.
This hugely impressive chapter in Liverpool's modern history should in theory be a difficult one to walk away for any player - but Mane has seemingly decided that a new challenge, namely with Bayern Munich, could be too good to miss out on.
