Sadio Mané’s stay in Munich was not what he would have expected. Between injury, adaptation problems and ego problems, the native of Bambali only lasted one season at Bayern Munich. Five months after his departure for Al Nassr, a club in the Saudi Pro League, disturbing revelations emerge.
“Like everyone else, I’m on social media and I see the comments. 60 to 70% of Senegalese want me to leave Liverpool? I will do what they want. We’ll see soon. Don’t be in a hurry”, said Sadio Mané at a press conference with Senegal in June 2022. A few weeks later, the Lion of Teranga will pack his bags in Germany and sign a lease with Bayern Munich for a fairly attractive salary . But very quickly, his stay will become a nightmare.
Having started well with the German Super Cup trophy on the line, Sadio Mané, who has had a string of average performances, will be injured a few weeks before the Qatar 2022 World Cup. And that’s precisely where hell started for the Senegalese. First the injury deprived him of the World Cup with Senegal and in the meantime, Bayern sacked Julian Nagelsmann to install Thomas Tuchel.
When he returned from injury, things were no longer the same. Sadio Mané, who already had adaptation problems, will see his locker room turned upside down after the arrival of Thomas Tuchel. The latter had arrived with his ideas and made it clear that he was not counting on the Senegalese striker, although he recognized that Sadio Mané is a world-class player.
Bassirou Sakho makes disturbing revelations about Sadio Mané in his book
Sadio Mané’s return to competition coincides with the knockout phase of the Champions League. The former Red who became a substitute was started against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the competition. Facing Pep Guardiola’s men, Sadio Mané and Leroy Sane did not get along on the pitch and after the match, the Senegalese physically attacked the left-handed German to the point of doing the portrait again.
In his book Sadio Mané, the promise of Bambali, his true story, Bassirou Sakho’s agent and his co-author Yannick Rauch returned to the Leroy Sane affair. The authors have made disturbing revelations and even claim that Bayern Munich players stopped talking to Sadio Mané until his departure for Al Nassr.
“The contacts arouse the player’s curiosity. He discusses it with those around him, in particular his uncle and a few relatives, they share their thoughts. The discussions agree on the same conclusion, Sadio Mané leaving Bayern Munich should no longer be a taboo . At the end of the vacation, Bambali’s child returns to Germany and joins the team for the pre-season camp and the trip to Japan. Sadio is present in the group, but during a second interview, the German coach confirms to him once again the new sporting project in which the Senegalese does not play a central role. Sadio definitely feels isolated, ostracized. He feels this feeling even more intensely, every morning when he arrives at the club’s training complex “While he always politely greets his teammates, not all of them take the trouble to respond to him. Some, particularly the German players, no longer even speak to him, still affected by the Leroy Sané affair.” they first let go.
“While he is in Tokyo, on this first day of preparation training, July 15, 2023, his mind is elsewhere. Perhaps in Riyadh, in search of a better future. His phone and that of his agent are not stop ringing, the emails pile up throughout the day, and he feels that his future in Bavaria is numbered. The Saudi club Al Nassr shows great interest. After numerous telephone conversations and official offers received by email, Sadio’s staff and the leaders of Al Nassr are meeting in Dubai. It is time to move up a gear, to negotiate a possible contract”, we can read.
“Sadio Mané wanted to stay at Bayern Munich”
Despite the problems with Leroy Sane and a divided locker room, Sadio Mané still wanted to continue the adventure with the Bavarian club. But Thomas Tuchel, coach of Bayern Munich, reiterated to him during the pre-season that he is not counting on him.
According to Bassirou Sakho and Yannick Rauch, Sadio Mané started by feeling rejected, he then received offers from Newcastle and Chelsea.
“Although he is on vacation, football remains omnipresent in his daily thoughts. Despite his failed end to the season, the Bayern player has received offers from many English clubs, including Newcastle and Chelsea. However, Sadio wants to stay in Bavaria in order to prove himself, after his mixed season on an individual level, despite the coronation in the Bundesliga. And this, although the German coach, Thomas Tuchel, told Sadio that he was not counting on him in his project sportsman of the 2023-2024 Bayern season,” they added.
“Indeed, since his dispute with Leroy Sane, Sadio Mané has never managed to restore his image among the Bayern staff and players. His status is changing negatively. Lacking playing time, he regularly finds himself on the substitutes’ bench, and only benefits from meager minutes on the pitch. His entry into play, in the 86th minute of play, on the penultimate day of the championship is humiliating for a player of his status. Four short minutes of play while the defeat of Bayern Munich, led 3 goals to 1, has already been achieved. Frustrated and disappointed, Sadio returned directly to the locker room, without greeting the public. Despite this announcement, the double African golden ball, still under contract with Bayern, went on vacation with a free mind. He wants to stay and take on the challenge presented to him. For him, leaving would be a failure. The Saudis of the Al-Nassr club are aware of the difficult context in which the Senegalese evolves and come into contact with those around him,” concluded the co-authors of the book.
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