Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool attacker, appears to be the next high-profile athlete to go to Saudi Arabia
Sadio Mane is unlikely to return to Liverpool this summer, a year after quitting the club.
The Senegalese won every major award with Liverpool before leaving for Bayern Munich last summer, scoring 120 goals in 269 games over six seasons. His time in Bavaria, though, appears to be coming to an end.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the 31-year-old is likely to become the latest high-profile player to relocate to Saudi Arabia, with an agreed-upon contract between Al-Nassr and Bayern. As a result, Mane is unlikely to face his former club in Singapore, with Liverpool set to face the German giants on Wednesday (August 2).
Given his poor form in Munich during the second half of last season, the Senegal international’s impending departure comes as no surprise.
The forward would appear 38 times for Bayern in all competitions, including 27 starts, including 25 times in the Bundesliga. However, a leg injury that necessitated surgery cost him nearly three months of the season and kept him out of the mid-season World Cup.
He was later deemed surplus to needs by new manager Thomas Tuchel, with the writing on the wall for Mane since he allegedly hit teammate Leroy Sane in the face following Bayern’s 3-0 Champions League defeat to Manchester City last season. The couple were spotted shouting both on the field and after the final whistle, with the fight spilling over into the locker room.
Following the confrontation, Sane was seen with a bloodied lip, with reports claiming that their teammates had to separate the pair in the locker room.
Mane, who scored 12 goals for his new club, was fined £250,000 by Bayern, as well as a one-match suspension, and sat out their 1-1 tie with Hoffenheim. While he returned to the starting XI the next day, even scoring as the Bavarians lost 3-1 to Mainz, he ultimately completed the season on the outskirts of Tuchel’s side, and was an unused replacement as they won the Bundesliga on the final day of the season.
Such honors would be his sole major prize for the German club, as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals of both the Champions League and the DFB-Pokal. Despite winning their 11th consecutive championship, Munich had a terrible season.
As a result of Mane’s problems at Bayern, Liverpool will not earn the maximum £35 million amount agreed upon when selling the Senegalese last summer. The Reds received an initial £27.5 million, with a further £5 million owing depending on appearances and a further £2.5 million in add-ons owed based on individual and team successes.
It’s unclear how much of the extra £7.5 million Liverpool will be entitled to.
Bayern’s initial bid was £21.5 million, with its add-ons rebuffed as “laughable.” They were all based on individual and team achievements, with The Times stating that the Reds would only receive the whole price if Munich won the Champions League and the player won the Ballon d’Or each season of a three-year contract.
While Mane’s achievements for club and country in 2022 earned him runner-up in the Ballon d’Or last year, it’s safe to say he won’t be in the running again this year. Meanwhile, he is unlikely to have activated all of his appearance-based add-ons in preparation for a possible exit.
When it comes to team achievements last year, Bayern at least won the Bundesliga title, even if they fell short in the Champions League. If Mane were to leave, it would depend on the exact agreement reached between the two clubs whether Liverpool would still be entitled to bonus payments if such victories were accomplished without the forward within the first three years of his deal.
As a result, the Reds may have banked a portion of those £5 million add-ons based on appearances, on top of the initial £27.5 million charge, with the remainder of that total fee, as well as the last £2.5 million based on individual and team performances, unattainable. While Liverpool agreed to a £35 million deal to ensure they sold the striker at a profit, the fact is that they will earn less than the £34 million they paid Southampton for him in 2016.
If Mane completes his move to Al-Nassr, he will become the latest Reds player to relocate to Saudi Arabia, joining Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard, and Robbie Fowler, with Fabinho anticipated to follow soon.
As a result, he’ll be reunited with three of his former teammates in the Gulf State in the Saudi Pro League, if not with the rest of Klopp’s Liverpool squad in Singapore next week. Meanwhile, David Ospina, Alex Telles, Marcelo Brozovic, Seko Fofana, Talisca, and Cristiano Ronaldo will join Al-Nassr as new teammates.
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