Liverpool star Mohamed Salah admitted that his relationship with Sadio Mane during their time together at Anfield wasn’t at its best and was tense. However, professionalism prevailed and contributed to the success of that era in the Reds’ history.
Mane first joined Liverpool in 2016, followed by Salah in the summer of 2017. Together, they created one of the most successful periods in the English club’s history, winning the 2019 Champions League and the 2020 Premier League, among other achievements.
However, at the same time, there was a clear sense of jealousy between the two, as each sought to score and assist as many goals as possible. This poor relationship was evident during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, when Egypt and Senegal reached the final.
Salah spoke about the whole matter in a lengthy interview with L’Equipe, saying, “The truth is, my relationship with Mané was strained, but we were professional until the very last moment, and I don’t think it affected the team.”
He added, “It’s natural for every player to want to score more goals and achieve individual and collective success. I understand that. He was a fierce competitor by all standards.”
The Egyptian King responded to accusations of selfishness that he caused the crisis with Mané by saying, “I don’t care what’s been said. People have the right to think what they want, but the unshakable truth is that I’m the one who provided the most assists to Mané at Liverpool.”
He continued, “Our relationship off the pitch? It wasn’t strong, but we always respected each other. There were never any personal problems, while each of us wanted to be the best, and we did so with complete professionalism.”
Mane left for Bayern Munich in 2022, an experience that proved unsuccessful, and then moved to Saudi club Al-Nassr two years ago, while Salah continued to make history at Liverpool, becoming the Reds’ all-time top scorer in the English Premier League and leading them to their second Premier League title, along with numerous other personal records.
