Why Mane is desperate to leave Liverpool

Sadio Mane is a global superstar and has cemented his status as a Kop legend.

However, he is angling for a move away from Liverpool, after 6 eventful years.

Mane wants to move to Bayern Munich.

If former Liverpool player, Steve Nicol is to be believed, Mane is just being greedy.

Nicol insists that Mane is only moving on as he’s seeking a bigger salary.

“Oh, it’s money,” he told ESPN.

“Absolutely it’s about money. From a professional point of view, why would you leave Liverpool?

“They are almost the best team in the land, so you aren’t moving for professional reasons. It’s definitely about money.

Apparently, Mane wants 3,93,000 $ per week which Liverpool find excessive.

Liverpool not willing to sell, yet

Bayern Munich offered Liverpool £23.5 million potentially rising to £30 million with add-ons, which Anfield officials dismissed as “laughable”.

That figure of £6.5 million in bonuses would only have been triggered in full if Bayern won the Champions League and Mane lifted the Ballon d’Or in each of the next three seasons – which is frankly, ridiculous.

Liverpool’s asking price for Mane had been set at around €50 million (£42 million). Bayern’s

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has indicated he’s keen to fly to Merseyside to conduct face-to-face talks.

But Liverpool insist he will be wasting his time unless he’s prepared to table what they regard as a serious offer.

Anfield officials believe that Mane can be compared with Robert Lewandowski, whom Bayern are currently valuing at €50 million (£42 million).

Besides, Mane is three years younger than the Poland striker which makes him even more valuable than the Polish striker.

Bayern keen to have Mane

Liverpool had initially hoped to resume talks with Mane about a contract extension after the end of the season.

But Mane’s head was turned by Bayern’s lucrative offer of a three-year deal.

Bayern’s pitch was that he would become their main man, which was flattering given Mane’s feeling that he was  under-valued at Liverpool.

Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann is a big Mane fan and has been the driving force behind the club’s pursuit of Mane.

Besides filling the boots of Lewandowski through the middle, Mane could be utilised as a winger given the ongoing uncertainty over the future of Serge Gnabry.

His signing would also give Nagelsmann the option of changing the system and playing with three forwards.

For Salihamidzic, it’s viewed as a golden opportunity to land one of the Premier League’s top talents for a relatively small fee.

What will Mane do?

Mane is desperate to leave Anfield on good terms and doesn’t want to disrespect supporters who have shown him such warmth over the past six years.

He is hoping that an agreement between the clubs will soon happen in manner that suits all parties.

However, Liverpool have been insistent since Paris that Mane would only be allowed to leave if they had a replacement lined up.

Darwin Nunez of Portugal has emerged as their preferred target.