Chris Sutton has said that Sadio Mane has a better chance of winning the Champions League at Liverpool rather than Bayern Munich and questioned why the forward would want to leave Anfield.
Mane’s future has dominated the headlines during the past week with the Senegalese star’s contract up at the end of next season and no signs of any progress over an extension. The forward has continued to send cryptic hints regarding his future and the ECHO understands he wants to leave the club, with Bayern Munich favourites for his signature.
Mane was in inspired form this season with 23 goals in 51 games and outshone his fellow Reds star Mohamed Salah after they both returned from the African Cup of Nations in February.
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Mane guided Senegal to glory in that competition, overcoming Salah’s Egypt on penalties in the final, while they also defeated Egypt in World Cup qualification on penalties to book Senegal’s place in Qatar. Currently on international duty, he became Senegal’s all-time top scorer with a hat-trick against Benin on Saturday evening.
Mane signed for Liverpool from Southampton for £34m in 2016 and has scored 120 goals in 269 games since moving to Anfield. He was the first major transformative signing under Jurgen Klopp and provided the foundation for today’s successes as his early performances helped to secure Champions League qualification.
Without Mane’s impact, the base wouldn’t have been laid for future signings such as Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson which have taken the Reds to the next level.
And for Sutton, he doesn’t understand why Mane would want to leave the club for Germany after such an impressive season. “I do think he has been their best forward this season,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.
“I know that Liverpool have great competition for places up top now. Luis Diaz has been a great signing and Jota. But Mane is so important to them.
“Would he stand a better chance of winning a Champions League at Liverpool or Bayern Munich? Exactly [it’s Liverpool], so why would he want to leave Liverpool?”
Mane will no doubt go down in folklore at Anfield with his impact. Not only has he been part of Liverpool’s most iconic team of the modern era, but he has won every trophy possible - the Champions League, Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
However, some of his actions during the saga over his future have disappointed fans and potentially harmed his legacy. Speaking ahead of his country’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin on Friday, Mane added further confusion surrounding his future.
He said: “Isn't it between 60 to 70% of Senegalese want me to leave Liverpool? I will do what they want. We will see soon! The future will tell us.”
For Sutton, Mane’s comments were baffling. He said: “What I can’t get is that Mane is palming this off on the Senegalese public, isn’t he?! What does he do if it’s [the views on his future] 50-50?”
