Bayern star Sadio Mané forced to change
Sadio Mane
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Sadio Mané is one of the best players in the world. But before he made his breakthrough in Salzburg, the Bayern star had to be forced to make a change.
Before the current season, Sadio Mané moved from Liverpool FC to Bayern Munich. The Senegalese has had his best time with the Reds so far, winning the Premier League and the Champions League there under coach Jürgen Klopp. He was also voted Africa’s Footballer of the Year in 2019 and 2022. But these successes almost never came about.
Sadio Mané is currently one of the best players in the world. The 30-year-old made his breakthrough in Europe between 2012 and 2014 at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. With the Bulls, the Senegalese became Austrian champion and cup winner in his last year. But actually Mané didn’t want to go there at all, but wanted to stay with his former club FC Metz.
“I didn’t want to go, but I had to. I was asked to do so and I cried. I still remember it like it was yesterday: I cried like a little child because I had to go to Austria. I didn’t know the language, I didn’t know the people. Metz was my second home. That was tough,” the Bayern start revealed in an interview RMC Sports.
FC Metz was Sadio Mané’s first club in Europe
The traditional French club was Sadio Mané’s first club in Europe. As a youth player, Africa’s footballer of the year left his home country of Senegal for FC Metz. “I wanted to stay there. It was my first professional club. I remember that the Austrian club made an offer. Bernard Serin replied: ‘If you want him, you have to pay four million euros.’ He didn’t think a player from the second tier was worth that much,” Mané continued.
But the top Austrian club paid the sum and in the end both sides were happy. After his two years in Salzburg, Mané moved to FC Southampton for 23 million euros. There he drew the attention of Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool FC and moved to Anfield Road in 2016 for 41 million euros.
The Senegalese has now arrived at FC Bayern Munich. The German record champions had Sadio Mané’s services cost 32 million euros before the season.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Bayern star Sadio Mané forced to change released.