The Saudi Pro League is an increasingly powerful entity in the world of football and its influence is only set to keep growing.
Some of Liverpool's most well-known players of recent times have ended up in that part of the world, and things are not quite as rosy as they may once have looked.
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Fabinho, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino have all participated in the Saudi Pro League in recent years, in moves that have been both advantageous and disastrous at different times.
Earning substantial sums of money from their teams that are funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), fans of the league put significant pressure on the overseas players to deliver the added quality that they have been brought in for.
However, if their performances are below expectations, then the pressure will soon mount and that's exactly what has happened with Mane.
Mane scolded by Saudi fans
Playing alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, Mane has plenty to live up to when he features in the forward line.
Benzema is scoring at a goal a game across the 10 matches he's featured in, meanwhile has 10 goals in 12 appearances.
For Mane, however, things aren't quite as straightforward, as the Senegalese international has only mustered 3 goals in 12 appearances, instead playing as more of a creator with five assists so far this season.
After missing a one-on-one situation in Al-Nassr's defeat to Al-Ittihad last night, fans were keen to criticise Mane, with many calling for his contract to be terminated to arrange for a different foreign player to be brought into the team.
Others simply recognised that Mane is not quite at the level that he used to be, which in all honesty seems to be a fair assessment.
When the winger left Liverpool in 2022 for Bayern Munich, he only managed to stay in the Bundesliga for one season before he was moved on from the German giants, and his move to Saudi Arabia was dubbed by many as a retirement move.
Earning a considerable wage during the twilight of his career seemed fair as he recognisably wasn't as good as he used to be.
However, while delivering some reasonable returns in front of goal at a club where the pressure is at its highest in Saudi Arabia, it seems that Mane's honeymoon period has quickly come to an end.
Mane is FSG's big Salah fear
Mohamed Salah is continuing to deliver at the highest level for Liverpool and his attacking returns so far have set up a season that could be amongst the best of his career.
However, there is looming doubt over whether Salah will continue to play on Merseyside next season because his current contract is up in the summer.
He has been vocal about how much he loves the club and the fans, but there have been few reputable breakthroughs in his talks with the ownership hierarchy.
So why is it so difficult to re-sign Liverpool's best player? Mane is why. He's the perfect example.
Liverpool are terrified at the idea of paying Salah lots of money and then him suffering the same decline. After all, the pair of them are the same age.
Mane's decline was rapid, essentially happening over one summer. Liverpool don't want to give Salah a long-term contract - even just three years - and then see him suffer that same decline.
Otherwise, you end up paying a player of Mane's current quality over £300k each week. That would be a financial disaster.
So yes, we do believe Liverpool should take the risk and sign Salah up. But this is exactly why that's not as straightforward as we'd all like.
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