Sadio Mane insists Liverpool is a club he 'respects a lot' after he 'jokingly' made comments about what the people of Senegal want him to do about his future on Merseyside. Mane scored a hat-trick in Senegal's 3-1 win over Benin yesterday to become his country's all-time leading scorer.
The Liverpool number 10's future was in doubt before the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid, as he said all would be revealed after the match. Although he is yet to directly tell the club of his wish, it is believed Mane wants to embark on a new challenge elsewhere.
Unsurprisingly, rumours suggest clubs all over Europe are circling, but Bayern Munich are said to be of interest to Mane if he was to leave Anfield in the summer transfer window.
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Mane caused a stir on social media with his pre-match comments in the press conference for the Senegal game as he hinted he would leave Liverpool. He said: "Isn't it between 60 to 70% of Senegalese want me to leave Liverpool? I will do what they want. We will see soon! The future will tell us."
But speaking to Canal+ last night after Senegal's 3-1 win, Mane clarified those comments, as he said: "I spoke yesterday while joking with a bit of humour and it was everywhere. I think we'll stop there.
"Liverpool is a club I respect a lot. The fans adopted me since day one. Regarding the future, we'll see."
As previously reported by the ECHO, Liverpool will not accept a fee below £40 million for Mane - who is out of contract in a year and Jurgen Klopp would like a replacement lined up before any move is sanctioned.
