A rivalry of sorts between Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah was on display during their time together at Liverpool, and Mane has shed light on an "angry" incident between the pair. The attacking duo formed one of the most potent frontlines in Premier League history alongside Roberto Firmino.
Mane and Salah will go down as two of the greatest wingers in the Merseyside club's history but both possessed winning mentalities that saw them clash. That was the case during a league fixture in August 2019 when Jurgen Klopp's Reds visited Burnley and claimed all three points at Turf Moor.
Chris Wood's own goal, Mane's strike and Firmino's finish handed Klopp's side a win against the Clarets, but the victory was marred by the Senegalese attacker's reaction to being substituted. He was extremely animated coming off and had shown frustration after Salah chose not to pass the ball to him moments before he was brought off.
Mane Lifts Lid on Relationship With Salah at Liverpool
Salah and Mane
Salah and Mane spent five years together at Liverpool and won every major trophy on offer, including the club's first Premier League title in thirty years. It was during that campaign that the Burnley incident occurred, and it was one of several signs of a rivalry between the teammates.
And Mane has now explained their relationship in an interview with the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast by first delving into their personalities:
"Great player. Good player. Great player. Everybody says the same (that there was a rivalry), you know, usually... But it's not… I don't think it's a bad thing. And me, I'm someone who is quiet, but I'm friendly with everybody in the team. I'm like this."
The current Al Nassr forward continued by alluding to moments where Salah decided not to pass to him:
"So, I think Mo is also a very nice guy. He's a nice guy. I think though, inside the pitch, you can see - sometimes he passes me, sometimes he doesn't pass me; sometimes he passes me, sometimes he doesn't pass me. But, you know, only Bobby was there to share the ball. Sometimes like this…
Mane went on to recall the Burnley drama and admitted he was enraged:
"And I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he didn't pass me, he should pass me. Burnley. You know before this, I watched that game, and I watched your face. Oh, it was amazing. That's why 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 added:
"He still thinks I'm angry against him because we didn't see each other, we go home. And 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'.”
Mane and Salah went on to fire Liverpool to the title that season, doing so with incredible collective goal-scoring numbers.
Mane explained how their relationship grew off the back of their Turf Moor fallout:
"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."
He concluded:
"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 left Liverpool in the summer of 2022 when he joined Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in a £35 million deal but failed to replicate his success at Anfield at the Allianz Arena amid injury troubles. The height of his career came alongside Salah, where they shone as Klopp's wide men while Firmino led the line.
"No Doubt About It " - Jurgen Klopp on Mane and Salah Relationship
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The latter stages of Mane and Salah's spell together were full of question marks over their unity, including on international duty when representing their African nations, Senegal and Egypt. Their club manager, Klopp, gave his thoughts on their relationship and denied they were at loggerheads.
Klopp said during a pre-match press conference back in April 2022:
"No doubt about it they are not only close, they are well educated, they are good boys, they are good humans. Sadio and Mo would consider themselves for sure as friends. They probably have ‘best friends’ somewhere, maybe here or at home, and this situation would be challenging even if it was your best friend."
Klopp appeared to touch on the Burnley incident:
"We just want to score a goal and realise a little bit later it was the wrong decision. It is nothing to do with any kind of rivalry with another player on your team, it is just the wrong decision."
Klopp was in charge at Anfield when Mane arrived from Southampton for £34 million in 2016, a year before Salah joined from AS Roma in a £36.9 million deal. They were two of the German coach's most important players as he led the Reds to domestic and European glory before departing at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.