Liverpool fans will remember Sadio Mané as one of the greatest to grace the pitch at Anfield this century, but the fan favourite wasn’t always a world-beater.
Mané played 269 times for Liverpool, winning and abundance of trophies including the Premier League and the Champions League, but the Senegalese star now plays his football in the Saudi Pro League.
Mané formed part of a legendary trio alongside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, enjoying his best season in 2019/20 when Liverpool won their first Premier League title.
Before the winger was tearing it up for Jurgen Klopp, he played his football at St Mary’s Stadium for Southampton, and he didn’t get off to a flying start for the Saints.
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Shane Long’s ‘horrendous’ first impression of Mané
Speaking on the Fozcast, Mané’s former teammate Shane Long revealed that the 107-capped Senegal star didn’t make a great first impression at St Mary’s.
“When Sadio first came, for the first six months, he was horrendous.
“Obviously he wasn’t horrendous, I take that back. He had these moments where you thought, ‘Oh, he’s got something.’ You used to kick him and you’d hurt yourself. He’s got that strength about him. But he’s only small, he’s quick.”
Mané played 75 times for Southampton before being picked up by Liverpool and he did show glimpses of the player he would become at Anfield before he arrived.
“He could take on everybody and kick it into row Z trying to cross the ball. He could run it off the pitch, those sorts of things.
“But then [Ronald] Koeman managed to coach him and train him and stuff, and he just hit this run of form, and you thought ‘Oh my god, this guy can just go to the very, very top’.”
Life at Liverpool after Mané
Mané swapped Merseyside for Munich in 2022 but only lasted a year in Germany before making his move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Mané’s left-wing spot is now being filled by Luis Diaz, who has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season.
Although the Egyptian King is without his former partners Mané and Firmino, Salah continues to be one of the best players in the Premier League and he is now supported by the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
Liverpool bolstered their front line this summer with Federico Chiesa and the Reds’ attack is now looking almost as formidable as it did in Mané’s time.
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