Sadio Mane has spoken candidly about his strained relationship with Mohamed Salah during their time together at Liverpool, including their infamous bust-up against Burnley in 2019.
First appearing together for the Reds in the opening game of the 2017–18 season, the pair would go on to play major roles in the club’s success under Jurgen Klopp, helping win four major trophies, including ending Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a 19th top-flight title in 2019–20. Of their 22 goal combinations, Salah scored 12 and Mane 10.
Their relationship away from the numbers was . Salah has previously acknowledged that the dynamic between them was not always as compatible as it appeared on the grass, telling L’Equipe earlier this year that there ‘was tension’ between them.
‘We were professional until the end, I don’t think it affected the team,’ the Egyptian star revealed. ‘Off the pitch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other.’
The tension was perhaps most evident during the 2019 match at Turf Moor under Jurgen Klopp.
The incident involving the Senegal international occurred in the 85th minute, with the Reds 3–0 up. As Mane walked off, he gestured towards the bench and continued to appear animated after sitting down, seemingly frustrated at Salah’s decision not to pass to him moments earlier in the opposition area.
A clip of the Liverpool team returning to the dressing room later went viral, with Roberto Firmino seen smirking at the camera as he walked between Mane and Salah.
Appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Mane has now gone into detail on the episode.
The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, said: ‘Everybody says the same (that there was a rivalry),' he said. 'But I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
‘I’m someone who is quiet, but I’m friendly with everybody in the team. I think Mo is also a very nice guy.
‘I think though, on the pitch, you saw – sometimes he would pass to me, sometimes he wouldn’t pass to me; sometimes he would pass to me, sometimes he wouldn’t pass to me. Only Bobby (Roberto Firmino) was there to share the ball.
‘And I still remember one game (against Burnley) when I was really, really angry because he didn’t pass to me when he should have.
‘I was really angry after the game. The next day he came up to me. He wanted to talk to me, but he didn’t know how to say it. He still thought I was angry at him because we hadn’t seen each other (the night before), we just went home.
‘He said, “Can we talk?” I said, “OK, no problem, we go.” And he said, “You think I didn’t want to pass to you? I didn’t score. Bobby scored. But even when I got the ball, I wasn’t thinking or see you to pass. I just got the ball and I wanted to shoot. But I have nothing against you. And honestly, if I can pass to you and if I see you, I will do.”
‘I said, “No, don’t worry. It passed, it passed. I was angry because I think you can pass to me more with your quality.”’
Contrary to popular belief, Mane reveals that the incident actually brought them closer together until his departure for Bayern Munich in 2022.
‘I think since that day we became even closer. And sometimes it happens. For me, it wasn’t personal. He just wants to score, score, score.
‘And then I said to him: "Mo, I can help you a lot because I know you want to be a top scorer. I can help you because I don’t have this problem. I’ll help you more."’
Mane also revealed that the best partnership of his career was not with Firmino or Salah, but with former Liverpool teammate Andy Robertson.
‘People usually talk about the front three – me, Bobby, Mo – but if you see (Andy) Robertson, you see the overlapping and this desire to win every single ball. It’s just amazing,’ he said.
‘I think it my best partnership in all my career because we knew each other. It was just natural. I helped him, he helped me.
‘When I had the ball, if we played against one winger which was really tough for him, in the next day in training, we’d say: "Hey, help me, I help you". It’s what he said.
‘I said: “Don’t worry, me, I will be here. I will be here for you. Don’t worry. We’ll catch him, we’ll put him in the pocket.” It was teamwork.’
wepabltuy
9
Best ever trio in LFC.