“I don’t think he’s ever been lauded and appreciated at the football club like Virgil van Dijk or Mo Salah” – Trevor Sinclair holds Klopp responsible for Mane leaving Liverpool
Trevor Sinclair has taken a shot at Liverpool and blamed their treatment of Sadio Mane for his exit. He believes the Senegal star was not respected enough and that forced him to leave for Bayern Munich.
Mane completed his move to Bayern Munich earlier this week, for a reported (as per Sky Sports) £35 million fee. The forward has penned a three-year deal with the Bundesliga champions, bringing an end to his time at Anfield.
Sadio Mane has today completed a permanent move to @FCBayern after six brilliant seasons with the Reds.
He departs as a Liverpool legend ❤️
Sinclair was on talkSPORT when he blamed Liverpool for Mane's exit and claimed that the football club did not respect him enough. He added that the Senegal star was not lauded as much as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Sinclair also thinks that the comments from Jurgen Klopp on AFCON could have been the final nail in the coffin.
"This Sadio Mane transfer is obviously universally accepted now. He's left Liverpool Football Club as a club legend. But I keep on hearing some fans and ex-players saying 'I don't know why he's left?'
"Let me tell you why he's left. One, I don't think he's ever been lauded and appreciated at the football club like Virgil van Dijk or Mo Salah. Two, the fact that Liverpool let his contract go down to the last year kind of suggests that that's how they felt about him."
He continued:
"Three, I think the main thing is that Jurgen Klopp lost him when he came out and belittled the AFCON tournament which his manager (for Senegal) Aliou Cisse had to come out and defend the AFCON and said 'You were coming second until our African players started playing for you'.
"Mane is a man of principles, you've seen him buy hospitals, buy schools, and all the rest of it in his home town of Senegal and it's for these reasons I feel Sadio Mane's thought, 'You know what, I'm going, I'm leaving the club'. He's had a good time, he's been a club legend but I don't think he could play on after that."
Salah has won three PL Golden Boots and has always been in the news for his goalscoring exploits while Van Dijk finished runner-up in the 2019 Ballon D'Or. It is possible that the public and media focus shared by the two players would have led to Mane's achievements at the club not gaining much attention.
Sadio Mane leaves Liverpool after six years at Anfield
Sadio Mane joined Liverpool in 2016 for a reported £34 million fee from Southampton.
Reflecting on six special years 🤩
Liverpool legend Sadio Mane sat down with us for one last time to say goodbye, after completing his move to Bayern Munich.
The Senegal star scored 120 goals in 269 games for the Reds, including 23 goals in the 2021-22 season. He won one Premier League title and one Champions League trophy along with an FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, and an EFL Cup in his time wit the Reds.