Sadio Mane previously refused to rule out a return to the Premier League after leaving Liverpool. The 34-year-old forward spent eight years in English football before moving to Bayern Munich in 2022.
The Senegal international is currently focused on his country’s World Cup campaign. Mane’s side faced France on Tuesday and are part of an intriguing group alongside Norway and Iraq.
Mane was one of the best attacking players in the world during his six-year stint with Liverpool, helping to fire the Reds to Premier League and Champions League glory under Jurgen Klopp. He later joined Bayern but endured a difficult year in Germany, prompting speculation about his future.
It was during this time that Mane met Newcastle United fan Martin Callanan, a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords. Lord Callanan was speaking at a conference in Senegal and asked the former Liverpool icon about a possible move to Newcastle in 2023.
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In a post on X, the politician wrote: “I’m in Senegal speaking at the EITI conference. Honoured to meet Sadio Mane in the hotel. I couldn’t resist asking him about coming to Newcastle next season. His enigmatic reply: ‘Never say never!’”
It could have just been a polite reply from Mane, who signed for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr later that summer. However, the forward did leave the door open to possibly joining another Premier League side during his conversation with Lord Callanan.
Mane demonstrated a willingness to change his transfer plans ahead of signing for Liverpool in 2016. The forward later revealed that he had reached an agreement to join Manchester United from Southampton before choosing to sign for Liverpool.
“I was really close to going to Manchester United. I had the contract there,” he recalled to The Telegraph in 2022. “I had it all agreed. It was all ready, but instead, I thought, ‘No, I want to go to Liverpool.’
View 2 ImagesMane chose to join Liverpool over Manchester United(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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“I was convinced to go with Klopp’s project. I still remember the first time I got the call from Klopp. He said, ‘We have a big project at Liverpool and I want you to be part of it.’”
Former United boss Louis van Gaal subsequently confirmed that the club had been interested in Mane. The Dutch coach spent two years at Old Trafford and left the club shortly after winning the FA Cup in 2016.
“Sadio Mane is a true team player and this is the reason why I really wanted to sign him (at Manchester United),” Van Gaal told Dutch publication NOS in 2022. “These are difficult players to play against.”
Mane has scored 51 goals in 129 games across his three years at Al-Nassr. The veteran forward will hope to help guide Senegal into the World Cup knockout rounds this summer.
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