Morgan Schneiderlin has revealed he tried his best to persuade Sadio Mane to join him at Manchester United before securing a move to rivals Liverpool.
Mane put the Premier League on notice for his performances during his time at Southampton during 2014-16 and Jurgen Klopp moved to add the Senegal forward to his attacking ranks.
Frenchman Schneiderlin, who spent two years at United after transferring from the Saints in 2015, has revealed ex-boss Louis van Gaal wanted him to try and persuade Mane to make the switch to Old Trafford.
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Despite Schneiderlin's best efforts, Mane opted to stay at Southampton for a further year before making the switch to Anfield for a fee believed to be in the region of £30 million.
“From the first day, you could see that he had something about him,” Schneiderlin told the Players Pod. “It took him a bit of of time, a few months, to get really going. And then as soon as he started to score some goals, it was game over. It was amazing.
“I remember Louis van Gaal asking me about him coming to Man United. I tried my best for him to come as well. But he wanted to stay one more year and go to Liverpool. I think the choice that he made was amazing. He arrived in Liverpool squad that was just untouchable at the time.”
Mane's decision paid off after winning every major honour in English football with the Reds before moving to Bayern Munich last summer.
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