Sadio Mane might have called time on his Liverpool career after six seasons this summer, but he could have left Anfield in 2021 had Lionel Messi got his way.
Mane completed his move to Bayern Munich last week in a deal that could be worth up to £35m after deciding to seek pastures new having won every major honour on offer to him with the Reds. However, the Bavarians weren’t the only side interested in the 30-year-old.
Paris Saint-Germain also held talks with the forward, according to his advisor, Bacary Cisse, who says that the uncertainty over the future of the club's then sporting director Leonardo put paid to any possibility of a switch.
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And Cisse also claimed that if Messi had signed a new contract with Barcelona last year, as opposed to leaving for PSG on a free transfer, one of his conditions was for the Catalans to sign Mane.
“Yes, PSG did indeed ‘attack’ Sadio. Leonardo had several contacts with the German agent,” Cisse told RMC Sport . “They saw each other, they discussed the ins and outs of a possible transfer of Sadio at PSG, but it ended there. Everyone knows that Leonardo was on an ejection seat; we had to wait.
“Last year it could have also happened with FC Barcelona. It was Lionel Messi who imposed Sadio Mane in the deal when it was a question of him extending to Barca. He had given two names: Sadio Mane and an Argentinian central defender.”
Messi has gone public with his admiration of Mane in the past, believing he should have finished higher than fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings after Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019, while revealing he voted for the Senegalese to win the FIFA Best award.
“It's a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place,” Messi said. “But I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That's why it was difficult to choose a particular player.
“But I chose Sadio Mane (for The Best award) because he's a player that I like. Mane achieved a great year that was exceptional for the entire Liverpool team. That's why I chose him.”
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