Liverpool bade Sadio Mane goodbye to in the summer as the forward departed for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich – and his exit has been blamed on Reds boss Jurgen Klopp who has been accused of showing the forward a lack of love.<\/p>\n
The Senegal star called time on his six years at Anfield in the summer to look for fresh pastures at Bayern Munich\u00a0as his Anfield contract entered its final 12 months. Mane claimed numerous honors on Merseyside but the uncomfortable feeling was that he played second fiddle to Mohamed Salah, who had often been accused of being greedy for goals.<\/p>\n
The Egyptian’s contract talks had hogged the headlines early last season, with the Reds desperate to retain their star goalscorer. With this, Mane’s future looked to have been put on the back-burner and Salif Diao, Mane’s compatriot and a former Red, claims Klopp’s attitude fanned the flames for his departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he has been here for a couple of years and I think at some point he thought he did not have the love that he needed really, here at Anfield,\u201d Diao told the Liverpool Echo\u00a0<\/em>about Mane.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not talking about the fans, for him I think it was more with the manager.<\/p>\n \u201cThings weren\u2019t really going on as they should be so that\u2019s why he decided to go for a new challenge. I think as a top player, every time you stay four to five years at a top club, sometimes it\u2019s good to go for a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Off-loading Mane for \u00a335million, Liverpool ended up making a marginal profit on the \u00a334m they had spent on him back in 2016, which went towards funding the \u00a385m deal to bring Darwin Nunez to Anfield. The Uruguayan joined for a club-record fee having made a dynamic entry with Benfica, scoring against the Reds in the Champions League\u00a0last term.<\/p>\n Nunez has meanwhile struggled to find his balance, netting only twice, and had been sent off on just his second appearance for a senseless headbutt on Crystal Palace\u00a0defender Joachim Andersen. Mane, on the other hand, has scored five times in 11 games for Bayern as he adapts to life in Germany.<\/p>\n Mane had long been so integral to the Liverpool attack that any change to replace him would take time to settle in and Diao admits any player filling the void was set for a tough task.<\/p>\n The former midfielder added: \u201cEveryone knew it would be hard. For any player coming in, it would be hard to take his place. I think people didn\u2019t realise the hard work he [Mane] has been doing here at Liverpool.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s normal, he\u2019s a top player. He\u2019s been one of the best top three players, if not the best, over the past four years in the world. He\u2019s proven on all levels. Of course, it would be hard for any player to come in and fill his space. It\u2019s going to take time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"