Sadio Mane has outlined why he picked a Liverpool transfer over Manchester United in the summer of 2016, with Tottenham also sniffing around him in the Premier League
15:08, 16 Feb 2026
Sadio Mane now plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Sadio Mane now plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.(Image: Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)
Liverpool hero Sadio Mane has outlined why he rejected Manchester United and Tottenham before moving to Anfield in 2016 after he was convinced by a conversation with Jurgen Klopp.
Mane, who won AFCON with Senegal last month, scored 120 goals in 269 appearances for Liverpool before he signed for Bayern Munich in 2022. A year later, he left Germany to move to the Saudi Pro League after a disappointing spell in the Bundesliga.
"Van Gaal called me and he said, 'Mane, how are you? What are you doing? I want you to come to Manchester United'," the Senegal forward told Rio Ferdinand's podcast.
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"I said, 'OK, so you have Depay, you have Rooney, you have Di Maria, you have Van Persie, so where am I going to play?'. Me, I want to play.
"He said, 'I know you're talented, you're good, and if you do good in training, you will play'. I was not convinced about this so I waited with my agent.
"A few days after, I had a meeting with Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino called and said, 'We want to have Sadio come to the training ground'.
Sadio Mane of Senegal and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco.
Sadio Mane of Senegal and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco.(Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"I went to Tottenham one week after and I was more convinced than the Man United project, because the Man United one, the problem was too many big players.
"I went to Tottenham and said to Pochettino, 'Make sure you agree with my agent and everything and I will come to Tottenham'.
"Three days later, Klopp called me and I said, 'This is my club and this is what I want to do. Some other clubs want me, but no, I'm going there'."
Mane was an instant hit at Anfield, scoring on his debut against Arsenal.
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"He is a machine," said Klopp ahead of Mane's departure. "What he has done for this club puts him in the bracket of 'legend'."
The player played six seasons for Liverpool, winning every major trophy. Earlier this week, Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye, his national teammate, claimed he was still in the top three players in world soccer.
Ndiaye, speaking with ESPN for a TikTok video, also put Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in his top three alongside Mane. He went on to name the likes of Lamine Yamal and Michael Olise as being among his favorites to watch.