Sadio Mane has opened up on his relationship with Mohamed Salah and revealed how the pair resolved their infamous on-field falling out during a clash with Burnley
Sadio Mane has shed light on his relationship with former Liverpool colleague Mohamed Salah, revealing how they mended their notorious on-pitch disagreement during a match against Burnley. The Senegalese star joined the Reds in 2016, a year before the Egyptian.
Together with Roberto Firmino, they formed a lethal attacking trio, clinching every major trophy during their shared tenure at Anfield. However, Mane, who was speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, ended his Liverpool stint to join Bayern Munich in 2022.
The trio propelled the Reds to Champions League victory in 2019 and went on to secure the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and European Super Cup in the 2019/20 season.
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However, it was during an early-season visit to Turf Moor in August 2019, when Liverpool triumphed 3-0 over Burnley, that Mane and Salah had a notable spat.
Mane, having already scored, showed clear frustration when Salah chose to go for goal alone and missed, rather than passing to his unmarked teammate. Substituted shortly after, an animated Mane gestured towards the bench as he left the pitch, continuing to vent his frustration from the dugout.
A video clip of the Liverpool team returning to the changing room after the final whistle became viral, showing Firmino smirking at the camera as he walked between Mane and Salah.
The incident has frequently been cited as evidence that Mane and Salah were never on good terms during their spell as Liverpool teammates.
However, Mane has dismissed any notion of bad blood with his former colleague during an appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, revealing what transpired between them after that clash at Turf Moor - and how he believes it actually brought them closer together.
"Great player. Good player. Great player. Everybody say the same (that there was a rivalry), you know, usually," he said. "But it's not... I don't think it's a bad thing.
"And me, I'm someone who is quiet, but I'm friendly with everybody in the team. I'm like this.
"So, I think Mo is also a very nice guy. He's a nice guy. I think though, inside the pitch, you can see - sometimes he passes me, sometimes he doesn't pass me; sometimes he passes me, sometimes he doesn't pass me.
"But, you know, only Bobby was there to share the ball. Sometimes like this.
"And I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he didn't pass me, he should pass to me.
"Burnley. You know before this, I watched that game, and I watched your face. Oh, it was amazing. That's why I was really, really angry after the game.
"And the next day he came to me. He wants to talk to me, but he doesn't know when, how to say.
"He still thinks I'm angry against him because we didn't see each other, we go home. And the next day he came to me. He said, 'Can we talk?'
"I said, 'OK, no problem, we go.'
"And he said, 'You think I didn't want to pass you?
'I didn't score. Bobby scored.
'But even when I got the ball, I was not thinking or even seeing you to pass. I just got the ball.
'I want to shoot. But I have nothing against you.
'And honestly, if I could pass you and I saw you, I will do.'
"And this, you know... I said, 'No, don't worry. It passed, it passed.
'I was angry because I think you could pass me more with your quality.'
"I think since this day we become even closer. And sometimes it happen, but we just... as a striker, because Mo, usually when you see the ball, you don't see nobody.
"You don't see nobody. So for me, he didn't do it personally. He just want to score, score, score.
"And then I was talking, I think, 'Mo, I can see you want to be more... I can help you a lot because I know you want to be top scorer. You want... I can.
'Me, I'm here. I can help you because I don't have this problem.
Me, I'll help you more.'"
Whilst Mane may have clashed with Salah during their spell as Liverpool teammates, his bond with Firmino was completely different. The 33-year-old would overlook the Egyptian but include the Brazilian, along with Virgil van Dijk, Philippe Coutinho, Kalidou Koulibaly and Cristiano Ronaldo when asked by Ferdinand to name his dream five-a-side team made up of former team-mates.
And he also opened up on just how highly he regards Firmino, admitting his fellow forward would never get angry if Salah or Mane did not pass him the ball.
"Oh, exceptional. Exceptional," he said. "If I said exceptional, it's just exceptional. Because for me, since I grew up, I never see a football player and human kind in my life as Bobby. Never.
"I never see any teammate like Bobby in my life. And he's the only player in my life I have put in my house.
"And Bobby Firmino, for me, it's not even... because what he's able to do, I can't, even myself. And I never see any player doing it, because it's special.
"Even football. He can... he doesn't... sometimes he doesn't care for nothing. I think it's also different people. It's natural like this.
"Because sometimes Salah can score, score, score; me, score, score. He doesn't score, change him. He doesn't care. Me, you do this, I will be angry. That's for sure. Salah, you do... he will be angry.
"And this, sometimes we players, we are like this sometimes. Over... want it, you know? But Bobby, for me, sometimes I just look at him in life, I see what kind of person he is.
"And he never take anything... of course, I never see him angry with anybody. I never saw him angry.
"He's more... for me, obviously he's more than football. Everything... no, it's life, it's not... no, he's always like this.
"So I never... that's why in our day, in football, how you know, me know, everybody, it's not easy. But Bobby, for me, he's more than a football player."