Sadio Mané has revisited his time at Liverpool to share new insight into his relationship with Mohamed Salah.
The pair formed one of the Premier League’s most feared attacking partnerships, combining with Roberto Firmino to drive Liverpool’s rise under Jürgen Klopp.
Despite their success, tensions did surface, most notably during a win at Burnley in 2019 when Mané reacted angrily after feeling Salah ignored a simple pass.
The outburst quickly became a viral talking point and overshadowed what was otherwise a routine victory for the Reds.
Mané now says that episode was far less dramatic inside the dressing room than it appeared from the outside.
He revealed that Salah approached him the following day, unsure how to start the conversation but eager to resolve any misunderstanding.
“Mo came to me because he wanted to talk, but he didn’t know how to start. He thought I was still angry. He came and said, ‘Can we talk?’ I said, ‘No problem,” Mane said in an interview with Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“Then he told me: ‘You think I didn’t want to pass to you. But I swear, I didn’t even see you. When I got the ball, I just wanted to shoot. I have nothing against you. If I saw you, I would have passed'”
“I told him: ‘Mo, don’t worry. It’s over. I was angry because with your quality, you could have passed the ball more. That’s all. Since that day, I think we became even closer.”
“Sometimes these things happen between strikers. And with Mo, when he sees the goal… He sees nothing else. Nobody! He only sees the goal. But I never take it personally, he just wants to score.”
“He took penalties, and I usually dropped deeper to defend. We needed that balance: Mo staying higher, Bobby linking play, and me dropping back to defend.”
