One of Sadio Mane's former teammates has now revealed that the Senegal superstar wanted to stay in Europe, but left because he "was not respected".
At the beginning of the 2023/24 season, Mane joined Saudi club Al Nassr from Bayern Munich in a deal worth €30 million (R594 million), with the move coming after he spent just one season with the Bundesliga giants, where his reputation took a massive hit in comparison to the heights he reached at Liverpool.
Read: Top coaches whose reputations took a hit in 23/24
Mane made just 38 appearances for Bayern, registering 12 goals and six assists during a spell in which he was infamously involved in a dressing-room bust-up with Leroy Sane that left the German winger with a bleeding lip.
It was reported that a number of his teammates in Munich turned on him after the incident, which may have helped culminate in him leaving the club entirely.
A former star of the Bavarians' reserve side, Desire Azankpo, has now insisted that Mane left Bayern because he was not respected as much as he perhaps should have been.
Asked how he spent his last months with Mane at Bayern, Azankpo told Afrik-Foot: "Listen, it was heavy! I'll be honest with you, it was heavy. I will take the example of a violinist whose name I have forgotten who left in a metro to sing and who only collected 30 euros, whereas the day before, he had filled the Olympia and his instrument cost more of 3 million. Do you see the idea?
"Whatever talent you have, it depends on where you are. In some places, they will never recognise your talent. Sadio is a great player, but at Bayern he was not properly respected.
"For me, when respect is not served at the table, there is nothing left. We are Africans, and among us, respect cannot be negotiated. We can negotiate everything except respect. When we are not respected, we leave.
"Honestly, he wanted to stay to prove to everyone that he could succeed at Bayern, that he had the capabilities, that he had the qualities to succeed in Germany, but with this lack of respect, he left.
"And I say it today, he made the best decision for the rest of his career. If you're in a club, you want to prove who you are and you're not even given the opportunity to do so, what's the point of staying in that club? We are talking about a footballer who was second for the Ballon d'Or after all!
"... At home we say, 'Whoever wants to kill his dog accuses him of rabies'. But like at the club, they had decided that it wasn't going to be him, he had to leave."
Get the latest soccer news and be ahead of the game. Follow our WhatsApp Channel via this link!
With Azankpo also leaving Bayern II at the beginning of the season, he was asked if this was partly due to Mane.
"I have my personal reasons which I won't unpack here," he responded.
"The fact that Sadio left may have weighed on the balance. But, as I told you, I have my personal reasons. Most of the time I played alone without Sadio Mane. So that's not the problem. There were other reasons that I don't want to come out in the press."
Azankpo was then asked if he thought Liverpool were missing Mane, to which he answered: "I can say that 100%. I told those around me when Sadio was leaving. I told them it was going to be difficult to replace a guy like Sadio.
"I'm not saying it because he's my friend. I invite you as a media professional to go and watch Sadio's matches at Liverpool again. Having a player who takes up space, who runs as much, who eliminates as much, who makes as many assists and who defends as much...
"At the beginning, Sadio was not a scorer, he was an excellent footballer who made others shine. But when the press started comparing him to others who scored a lot of goals, it tickled his pride and he began to work on his skill in front of goal. And he has made progress on this front. He preferred to make assists than score. And as we are today in a world of stats, he worked on this goalscoring side.
"But, I'm not even going to talk about his goals, but having a player who defends so much on the side with so many good stats... If we want to replace him, good luck! I announced to those around me that Liverpool are going to win matches, but winning titles without him won't be easy. And the future proved me right."
Read: Carlo Ancelotti, the unsung all-time great coach!
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.