Why Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane’s relationship really deteriorated at Liverpool

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Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane shared the dressing room at Liverpool from 2017 to 2022 before the latter left to join Bayern Munich.

Alongside Roberto Firmino, they were widely hailed as one of the best trios of their generation and won six major trophies together, including the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League under Jurgen Klopp.

A lot has been said about their relationship over the years as they competed for personal honours at Liverpool, while they also went head to head on the international stage with Senegal and Egypt respectively.

And now, if reports are to be believed, Salah and Mane’s friendship steadily deteriorated after the Egyptian’s first season at Anfield.

The inside track on Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane’s relationship at Liverpool

Salah joined Liverpool in the summer of 2017 – a year after Mane – and took the Premier League by storm as he scored 32 league goals in his debut season.

According to Daily Mail, the pair enjoyed a good relationship during their first season together at Anfield but things quickly took a turn after Salah began to grow in stature after his stunning goalscoring exploits in the 2017-18 season.

Mane believed Salah’s brilliant scoring run had a lot to do with his unselfishness and was frustrated when the Egyptian was put on penalties over James Milner.

As the years went by, the ‘awkwardness’ between the pair increased, with dressing room sources insisting that Mane began to see Salah as a ‘rival’.

The report also goes on to state that Firmino – who was just as integral to the team as the duo – began to grow disgruntled with Salah’s ‘selfishness’, although the Brazilian managed to contain his emotions.

Klopp was aware of the tension between Salah and Mane but didn’t acknowledge it in the dressing room, although he made it clear to his players that whenever a teammate was in a better position, the ball simply had to be passed.

Could Salah follow Mane to Saudi?

Salah continues to be linked with the Saudi Pro League, where Mane currently plies his trade with Al-Nassr.

His Liverpool contract runs out next summer and as things stand, there two parties are no closer to agreeing terms on an extension.

Despite interest from Saudi, Salah views Mane’s move to the Middle East as a cautionary tale as the Senegalese international winds down the rest of his career from away from the spotlight.

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