Liverpool have had to make some difficult decisions in recent years in terms of letting players go.
Philippe Coutinho was a world-class player during his time at Liverpool, but the Reds decided to sell him when Barcelona came in.
Meanwhile, Liverpool sold their captain, Jordan Henderson, in 2023, while Fabinho left in that same transfer window and Roberto Firmino was released.
Back in 2022, Liverpool made another controversial sale as Sadio Mane left for £40m to join Bayern Munich.
Mane was incredible for Liverpool, but he was sold in 2022 as he embarked on a new chapter in Germany.
Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Mamadou Sakho has been discussing Liverpool’s decision to sell Mane, and he says that Al Nassr ace is the one Liverpool player he would’ve kept.
Mamadou Sakho would’ve kept Sadio Mane
Sakho shared his opinion on Mane, claiming that he would’ve kept the attacker.
The centre-back suggested that it was Liverpool’s choice to get rid of Mane, rather than the player pushing for a move.
“So, as a Liverpool fan if I had to keep one player, I would keep Sadio Mane,” Sakho said.
“The exact same year, the club decided to keep Mohamed Salah and let Sadio Mane leave. You understand? It’s not the player, it was the plan of the club. They know what they want.”
“It’s not the player’s fault, for me, it’s the club.”
Sadio Mane stats after leaving Liverpool
Mane left Liverpool in 2022, and the 2022/23 season was perhaps the worst of the Jurgen Klopp era.
Indeed, the Reds finished fifth that year, and there were many suggestions that Liverpool were missing Mane.
However, Mane himself had his own struggles after leaving Anfield.
The Senegalese star didn’t make the desired impact at Bayern Munich, and he left after just one season.
Mane’s stats for Bayern Munich weren’t all that impressive either, and there’s a case to make that Liverpool sold Mane at the right time.
| Sadio Mane stats at Bayern Munich | |
|---|---|
| Games | 38 |
| Goals | 12 |
| Assists | 6 |
Of course, Mane was a brilliant player for Liverpool, and his abilities were missed, but as he was getting that bit older, he was, inevitably, starting to slow down.
It’s hard to argue that Liverpool would be a better team if they still had Mane leading the line.
