Sadio Mane confirms plans to leave Liverpool this summer

Star Senegalese forward Sadio Mane has announced his intentions to leave Liverpool. It was pretty brutal timing, considering the club’s Champions League Final loss to Real Madrid this past Saturday. He has been one of the best players in the world ever since he arrived at Anfield in 2016 and he is coming off a season where he had 23 goals through 51 games.

The favourites to land the 30-year-old are Bayern Munich. The German giants have won the last 10 Bundesliga titles and have been a dominant club in world soccer. While they have been unbeatable in their league, they have struggled in the Champions League and will hope Mane is the piece to bring them back into the spotlight on the European stage.

If Mane signs with Bayern, he could have big shoes to fill given Robert Lewandowski is rumoured to be looking for a new challenge. Even if they lose Lewandowski, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Bayern will probably be fine due to their talent in other places and financial advantage over their league mates.

Mane has also been rumoured to be interested in signing with PSG but may prefer Bayern due to the relative lack of competition for a starting spot. PSG already have Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar; they do not need another high-paid attacking option.

Regardless, it’s a sad day for Liverpool. Mane has been a stalwart at the club, and his combination with Mohamed Salah created one of the best attacks in all of world soccer. During his time at Liverpool, Mane won one Premier League title, one Champions League title, one FA Cup and one League Cup, along with the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Liverpool also lost two Champions League Finals with Mane on the squad.

Mane also stacked up the individual awards, flourishing in his time under Jurgen Klopp. He will likely fetch a lot of money for Liverpool, who will almost certainly looking for replacements right now. They brought in Colombian winger Luis Diaz in the past January transfer window and he will be expected to have a bigger role next season and beyond.

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