Andy Robertson has lifted the lid on the competitive relationship between former Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and explained what really happened against Burnley
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates with Sadio Mane after scoring a goal during a Premier League match
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane played alongside each other for five years at Liverpool(Image: Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Ex-Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has opened up on the competitive relationship between former teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, as well as the heated clash between the pair in a meeting with Burnley back in 2019.
Alongside Roberto Firmino, Salah and Mane formed one of the most formidable front threes in European football, which spearheaded the Reds to glory in the Champions League and Premier League. Firmino was the first to join the Reds in 2015, before Mane was signed from Southampton a year later.
The attack was then complete another year later when Salah joined from Serie A giant Roma. From there, they set the continent alight and were undoubtedly one of the most feared and prolific forward lines in the game.
With that came fierce competition, emphasized by the fact the pair often went head to head for their nations in Egypt and Senegal. Many cite a meeting with Burnley back in 2019 when Mane publicly fumed with Salah after his teammate didn't pass the ball to him and instead took on the chance himself.
Mane was taken off by Jurgen Klopp a few minutes later, but tempers spilled over on the bench with the winger venting in the dugout and making angry gestures. James Milner played the peacemaker on that occasion and calmed Mane down.
In more recent years, the players themselves have played down the incident as a normal disagreement between teammates. Robertson, now at Tottenham, has also given his version of events and insisted it was simply poor decision-making in the moment on Salah's part and nothing more.
"That Burnley one," he began, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast. "People are saying that Salah refused to [pass to Mane]. No, he never. He just took the wrong decision. We all make bad decisions.
Sadio Mane of Liverpool sits on the bench alert being substituted during the Premier League match against Burnley
Sadio Mane was consoled by teammate James Milner after he was taken off against Burnley in 2019(Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
"But they both wanted to be top goalscorer, they both wanted to win the Golden Boot... that's what you want from your forward players, really. At that time, they were both scoring like 24, 25 goals a season. We were delighted they both wanted to do that."
Mane eventually departed Liverpool for Bayern Munich in 2022, having scored 120 goals in a little over 260 appearances across all competitions. He now plays his football in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Nassr.
Salah, meanwhile, stuck with the Reds for a further four years and played an integral role in another Premier League title win in 2025. He departed Anfield as a free agent at the end of last season after a very challenging year both on and off the pitch.
He now plays his football in Turkey with Trabzonspor. Liverpool, on the other hand, has something of a new-look attack with the likes of Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola and Rio Ngumoha representing the future of the team.