Gabriel Agbonlahor has told Sadio Mane that he will ‘regret’ leaving Liverpool this summer as his move to Bayern Munich appears to be edging closer.
The Senegal international is out of contract at the Anfield outfit at the end of next season but it’s believed that he’s wanting to join the Bundesliga giants after his wage demands at the Reds weren’t met.
Ex-Aston Villa forward Agbonlahor admitted that the No. 10’s departure may be the ‘best for both parties’, but urged Jurgen Klopp’s side to try and retain the winger for another season.
“I would keep Mane, to be honest,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider. (via TEAMtalk).
“What he offers the club, what he offers the team, I would keep him.
“Liverpool might not want to break that wage structure. They won’t be held to ransom. It will be interesting to see.
“When a player wants out so much, it’s hard to stop them, it’s hard to keep them around.
“Maybe it’s best for both parties. Mane wants to try a different league, he wants the money he feels he deserves and Liverpool don’t want to pay it.
“There shouldn’t be any hard feelings but the way he has pushed it through, he’ll probably regret it because he had a great time there.”
If Mane was to remain on Merseyside for another 12 months, that would be great, but it would then mean that he could leave the club for free next summer.
He may be 30 years of age, but he’s as fit as ever and was performing superbly last season – it therefore makes sense to cash in now and earn a fee in the region of £40m for the former Southampton man.
He’s reportedly wanting a weekly wage in the region of £400,000 to remain at Liverpool but that is a salary that FSG simply won’t pay.
If our owners were to give in and pay Mane what he wants, that would disrupt our usual wage structure and could lead to other players demanding similar figures in the future.
No player is bigger than the club and it therefore looks like he’s played his last game for the club.
He’s won every major trophy possible during his time at Anfield and many Reds now view the AFCON winner as a Liverpool legend – it’s a shame that he appears to be on his way out, but the signing of Darwin Nunez from Benfica has Kopites excited ahead of the new season.