As Sadio Mane’s £ 35m transfer to Bayern Munich nears completion, it is unlikely that Liverpool fans will feel too harsh towards a player who has given them six years of success. unmatched and bright memories of attack.
From the moment he signed in 2016 from Southampton, the Senegalese has been one of the stars of Jurgen Klopp – perhaps, for longevity, the star – in the middle of a reconstruction of Anfield that will go down in history.
Mane did more than his role. 120 goals tells its own story. However, while the 30-year-old will no doubt leave a void, Darwin Nunez has some big shoes to fill. But analyzing from a career perspective, is it really a wise decision?
Sadio Mane has decided to leave Liverpool and join Bayern Munich on a £ 35m deal
However, history shows that star players have trouble impressing after being killed by Jurgen Klopp.
Be careful what you want, as the saying goes. While Mané helped make Liverpool a European football tycoon once again, we must not forget what the Reds and Klopp have done for the Senegalese and his star.
SADIO MANE A LIVERPOOL
Appearances: 269
Goals: 120
Assistance: 48
Yellow / Red: 34/1
Trophies: 6 (Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
Because over the course of six years, Mane went from a fiery attacking prospect to one of the deadliest strikers in world football.
His double at the Allianz Arena against newcomers Bayern in the magical Champions League 2019 race was one such example among a host of attractive moments and match-fixing.
With his raw pace and work ethic, Mane fitted in perfectly with Klopp’s philosophy of high pressure and energy football, forming a deadly trio on and off the ball alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
And even with the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Díaz in recent years, Mané was almost always a cemented starter.
But now he is preparing for a new challenge in Germany, facing a European giant that has won its national title in 10 of the last 10 years.
So the first question to ask: Is it really a challenge for a player like Mane?
But most importantly, why risk a decline in notoriety when growth was still possible? Because the evidence of players coming out of Klopp’s locker room is that it didn’t normally work.
The first significant departure from the Klopp era was undoubtedly the transfer of £ 142 million from Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January 2018.
In a season that would change Liverpool’s game, as they surprisingly reached the Champions League final, the Reds lost their Brazilian game creator, six months after making it clear that their heart was in Catalonia. .
While the Reds used the cash to sign Virgil van Dijk, Coutinho fought at the Camp Nou. He was originally wounded for three weeks and eventually never reached the promised heights.
Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool to join Barcelona in 2018, but never regained his stellar form
After scoring against Man Utd in the Champions League in April 2019, Coutinho put his fingers to his ears in response to a wave of criticism from fans. A few weeks after that, Coutinho and company got a three-goal lead in the semi-finals against their former club Liverpool, and a few months later he was transferred to Bayern Munich.
However, the real ignominy for Barça had to come, as Coutinho scored two goals against his home club during the famous 8-2 quarter-finals of the 2020 European Championship, when the Brazilian won the League of Champions, although like small player.
Coutinho’s Barça career never fully recovered. He was loaned out by former teammate Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa before a permanent deal was signed a few weeks ago as he seeks to regain his career and a World Cup in November.
Coutinho thought he could reach stratospheric heights without Liverpool, but with a Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League a year later, it turned out that Liverpool reached the maximum of the maximums without Coutinho.
One of Coutinho’s humblest nights with the Barça shirt was in Liverpool’s hands in 2019
The same year Coutinho left, German international Emre Can also decided to explore options away from Merseyside.
The powerful midfielder, a Klopp favorite, decided to let his contract go and made his last appearance with Liverpool as a final replacement in the defeat in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
He joined Juventus on a five-year contract and 5 million euros per season, figures that could not be matched at Anfield.
After playing 29 times for a winning Serie A team, Can quickly fell into disgrace under Maurizio Sarri and was left out of the Champions League team a season later.
A loan, followed by a permanent deal, at Borussia Dortmund has revitalized his career a bit, but it would be understandable not to ask: would he have been better at Liverpool?
Emre Can, who was Klopp’s favorite, decided to leave his contract at Anfield
He joined Juventus on a five-year, 5 million euro contract per season, but quickly fell into disfavor.
The third most notable example is the most recent, as Gini Wijnaldum left last summer, also after the expiration of his contract.
With Barcelona and PSG as suitors, the Dutchman opted for the French team from Qatar in a summer in which he surprised world football and signed Lionel Messi.
However, despite starting 22 of 38 League 1 games, with a comfortable title win, Wijnaldum performed poorly and admitted he was not “completely happy” with his role at Princes Park.
Louis van Gaal left him out of the latest Dutch team and was named “Flop of the Year” in Ligue 1 by Get French Football News, after 100,000 votes and consulting GFFN experts, with Wijandlum winning by a ‘wide margin.’
Although there is still time for Wijnaldum to change his time in Paris, it is not an ideal start, and it came in a season in which Liverpool competed for a historic quadruple, a feat in which he had only two games left. .
Gini Wijnaldum joined PSG last year, but a few weeks ago was voted “Flop of the Year” in Ligue 1.
Therefore, the warning signs for Mane are ubiquitous. While people like Danny Ings, Dominic Solanke and Harry Wilson have impressed since they left Anfield, there are also low-profile cases of players struggling after Klopp, such as Rhian Brewster, Mamadou Sakho and Danny Ward.
Klopp has a habit of making players star through his own coaching skills and imperious man management. Mané will go to a team that has already won everything at national level, with a coach whose management has been questioned last season by Julian Nagelsmann.
In addition, it seems unlikely that Mane will be with Robert Lewandowski, who has made clear his desire to leave.
The above cases show that Mane is playing. At the height of his powers after a fantastic season for both the club and the country, it may not be a case that Liverpool and Klopp are missing, but Mane is missing Liverpool and Klopp.
Mane won everything there was to win with a red shirt, but is it unnecessarily risky to leave?