Sources at Liverpool are not expecting Sadio Mane to return to Anfield from Bayern Munich this summer.
Mane looks set to be on the move just a year after leaving the Reds, having fallen out of favour at Bayern. But according to GOAL, he’s unlikely to end up back at his former club.
They claim that sources at Liverpool have ‘offered little encouragement’ to suggestions that Mane may reunite with the club he spent six years at.
No way back for Mane
It’s disappointing to see the way things have gone for Mane since arriving in Munich last summer. After an initially encouraging start, he’s since found the burden of trying to replace Robert Lewandowski simply too great.
That pressure culminated in the Senegalese reportedly punching teammate Leroy Sane in the face after last week’s Champions League tie with Manchester City.
Following that behaviour, it seems that Bayern are, understandably, willing to cut their losses and move Mane on.
Plenty of Liverpool supporters will no doubt see value in the 31-year-old returning. Whether it’s true or not that the Reds would have had a better season with Mane still in the squad, they’ve certainly missed him to some degree.
He was popular among the squad and on a short-term deal, maybe it would make some kind of sense. On the other hand though, the truth is that Liverpool moved on from Mane some time ago.
Arguably, the arrival of Luis Diaz in January 2022 meant that the Senegal legend was no longer needed at Anfield. The subsequent arrivals of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have only underlined that notion further. So, as nice as it would be to have Mane back, we think that this is the best position to take.