Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever grace a football pitch, but not even he could persuade Sadio Mane to leave Liverpool last summer.
The Senegal international joined Bayern Munich earlier this month after revealing that he wanted to leave the Reds. Mane’s contract expired in 2023 which meant that this summer was Liverpool’s last significant chance to cash in on the former Southampton star – earning them £35m from Bayern.
But the winger could have pushed for a move away from Anfield sooner and was urged to do so by Messi. The forward, who was in talks about extending his contract at Barcelona at the time, wanted to lead the line with Mane at the Camp Nou and made it known to the club who he thought the club should pursue in the transfer window.
