Sadio Mane has revealed that he had agreed a transfer to Man Utd before his switch to Liverpool.
The Senegalese forward joined the Reds from Southampton back in 2016 and has gone on to enjoy a wonderful career at Anfield. In all, he has scored 120 goals in all competitions for the club and has also played his part in a Premier League and Champions League success, as well as having scooped the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Whilst Mane has written himself into Kop folklore, he could potentially have been representing fierce rivals Man Utd instead, having revealed to former Red Jamie Carragher that he was close to switching to Old Trafford only for Jurgen Klopp to intervene.
Speaking to Carragher in a piece for The Telegraph, he said: “I have to say, I was really close to going to Manchester United. I had the contract there.
“I had it all agreed. It was all ready, but instead I thought, ‘No, I want to go to Liverpool’. I was convinced to go with Klopp’s project. I still remember the first time I got the call from Klopp.
“I was watching TV. It was an action movie - because I love movies - and he said, ‘Sadio, listen, I want to explain to you what happened at Dortmund’. That was when he thought of signing me for Dortmund and for some reason it didn’t work out.
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“He tried to explain and I said, ‘it’s okay, it happened’. I forgave him. Then he said, ‘now I want you at Liverpool’. And I said, ‘Okay, Dortmund is behind us, let’s focus on the future’.
“He said, ‘We have a big project at Liverpool and I want you to be part of it’. Then he asked what position I wanted, because he could see at Southampton I played on the right side and I used to play on the left. I said I prefer left, and then he said, ‘but Coutinho is on the left!’ So I said, never mind, I will play on the right. I could see myself in all the positions.”
Mane will be aiming to add to his hugely impressive trophy haul this weekend as Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris. Despite the chance of continuing his huge success with Liverpool, his future has been called into question.
The 30-year-old sees his current contract expire at the end of next season and has been linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich. Amid those reports, he has refused to comment where his future lies and will only confirm his decision after taking on Real Madrid.
He said: “Honestly I think the answer I can give you now is I feel very good, and I am fully focused on the Saturday game, that is the answer I must give before the final.
“But come back to me on Saturday and I will give you the best answer you want to hear, for sure. It’s special. I will give you all [what] you want to hear then.
“Saturday, come back and I will give you the answer I promise, but for now let’s go and win the Champions League because I have no time for other things.”
