Much was made of the decision by the club and/or Sadio Mane for his time at Liverpool to come to an end this summer.
According to Salif Diao, it’s possible that former No.10 felt he wasn’t getting the ‘love that he needed’ with the Merseysiders to stay put.
Speaking with the ECHO, the ex-Red said: “I think he has been here for a couple of years and I think at some point he thought he did not have the love that he needed really, here at Anfield.
“I’m not talking about the fans, for him I think it was more with the manager.
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“Things weren’t really going on as they should be so that’s why he decided to go for a new challenge. I think as a top player, every time you stay 4-5 years at a top club, sometimes it’s good to go for a new challenge.”
It’s a scathing review of the manager by the former Senegalese international and it’s clear that he doesn’t think Jurgen Klopp was treating his compatriot with the admiration that he deserved.
It did seem as though the now Bayern Munich star had decided that his time on Merseyside was done and his departure was purely in search of a new adventure rather than being to do with how he had been treated.
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However, there are always ways of convincing players to stay and had the 30-year-old felt even more loved then he may have been happy to at least see out the final year on his contract.
We will never know what went on behind closed doors with the pair but it’s not particularly enjoyable to assume frictions when there’s no reason to believe they were there.
It’s clear that the former Southampton forward has a lot of respect for our club and whenever the German crosses paths with him again, they’re sure to share a big embrace and discuss the happy memories that they shared together.