Sadio Mane opens up on seeming rift with Mohamed Salah

Senegal forward Sadio Mane has opened up on allegations of a rift with Egypt star Mohamed Salah when the pair was at English Premier League side Liverpool.

There was a seeming fracas between the two African giants under the guidance of German tactician, Jurgen Klopp and Mane, who joined Liverpool from Southampton, has reacted differently to the story that gained global attention.

Mane and Salah formed a deadly pair at Liverpool

“Everybody says this this but me I am somebody who is quiet, I am friends with everybody in the team, I am like that. I think Mo [Salah] is a nice guy,” Sadio Mane told Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand.

“In the pitch you can see that sometimes he passes [the ball] to me, sometimes he doesn’t, sometimes I pass [the ball] to him sometimes I don’t.

“And I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he didn’t pass me, he should pass me.

“I was really, really angry after the game. And the next day, he came to me. He wants to talk to me, but he doesn’t know when, how to say. He still thinks I’m angry against him because we didn’t see each other, we went home.

“The next day he came to me. He said, “Can we talk?” I said, “OK, no problem, we go. And he said, “You think I didn’t want to pass you? I didn’t score. Bobby scored. But even when I got the ball, I was not thinking or even seeing you to pass. I just got the ball.

“I want to shoot. But I have nothing against you. And honestly, if I could pass you and I saw you, I will do. And this, you know… I said, “No, don’t worry. It passed, it passed. I was angry because I think you could pass me more with your quality. I think since this day we become even closer. And sometimes it happen, but we just… as a striker, because Mo, usually when you see the ball, you don’t see nobody.

“You don’t see nobody. So for me, he didn’t do it personally. He just want to score, score, score. And then I was talking, I think, “Mo, I can see you want to be more… I can help you a lot because I know you want to be top scorer. You want… I can. Me, I’m here. I can help you because I don’t have this problem. Me, I’ll help you more.”

Mane and Salah alongside Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino formed a deadly front three, leading the Reds to the English Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Mane, who cut his teeth at Metz in France, previously played for Red Bull Salzburg before joining Southampton. He signed for Liverpool where he spent six seasons before leaving in 2022 to join German giants, Bayern Munich.

He currently plays for Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr with 119 international caps and 21 goals for the Senegal national team. He led the Teranga Lions to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations title in Cameroon, their first ever.