Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he does not know why his former pupil Sadio Mane failed to make it at Bayern Munich.
Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr announced Mane as their latest signing on Tuesday (August 1), with the Senegalese joining Cristiano Ronaldo in attack. According to sources, Bayern Munich have let the player go for a $43.4 million fee, having signed him from Liverpool just a year prior.
OFFICIAL: Sadio Mané ➡️ @AlNassrFC 🟡🔵 pic.twitter.com/Az2IFxNekX
— 433 (@433) August 1, 2023
Jurgen Klopp puzzled by Sadio Mane’s Bayern Munich spell
Reds boss Klopp, who coached Mane between 2016 and 2022, has commented on the former Southampton star’s stay in Bavaria. He believes that the brilliant attacker did not have luck on his side, leading to his poor spell. The Liverpool coach said at a press conference (via @iMiaSanMia):
“I don’t know what went wrong, to be honest. I think Sadio left us on a high, in really good shape, world-class player, no shadow of a doubt. To fulfil your full potential I think everything has to fall in place pretty much.
“A bit of luck is helpful as well and that was obviously not the case. A bad injury in a horrible moment, the World Cup was gone. We all knew that would have an influence, because Sadio is a very proud man, and that he couldn’t lead his country at the WC was brutal for him.”
Klopp on Mané leaving Bayern: "I don’t know what went wrong, to be honest. I think Sadio left us on a high, in really good shape, world-class player, no shadow of a doubt. To fulfil your full potential I think everything has to fall in place pretty much." pic.twitter.com/1qLE71Uyio
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 1, 2023
Mane, 31, won it all under Klopp at Liverpool. He helped the club to the 2018-19 Champions League trophy, the 2019-20 Premier League title, and the FA and EFL Cups in the 2021-22 season. Under Klopp’s tutelage, Mane featured in 269 games for the 19-time English champions, scoring 120 times and claiming 48 assists.
Mane’s Bayern Munich spell was nothing short of a disaster
Expectations were sky-high when Mane moved to Bavaria at the start of the 2022-23 season. However, niggling injury concerns and poor form kept him from fulfilling his potential. He also had a fallout with teammate Leroy Sane following Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat (3-0) to Manchester City in March. Mane allegedly punched his teammate, for which the Bavarians suspended him.
Mane has left Bayern after playing only 38 games in the 2022-23 season, scoring 12 goals and claiming 6 assists. He will be eager to improve his numbers for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the 2023-24 season.
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