Mohamed Salah has admitted there was ‘tension’ between himself and Sadio Mane during their spell together at Liverpool.
Despite being part of one of the most prolific front-threes in Premier League history, Salah says he and Mane were ‘not very close’ off the pitch as their ruthless competitiveness came between them.
The trio of Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool to a bucket load of trophies, including Premier League and Champions League titles, and will rightly be remembered as one of the finest partnerships ever seen in the English game.
The numbers back that up – from 2017-2022 the Liverpool stars combined for an incredible 338 goals. Salah led the way with 156, Mane with 107 and Firmino with 75.
They also recorded a combined 139 assists – Salah 58, Firmino 50, Mane 31 – and remarkably 66 per cent of those assists were for each other.
A deeper dive into the stats shows Firmino was the glue in the trio, with the Reds’ beloved Brazilian acting as the perfect unselfish link to help Salah and Mane unleash their goalscoring prowess.
But Salah and Mane didn’t ignore each other.
They both provided 18 assists to one another during their partnership, and supporters will remember some incredible link-ups between them during their five years.
However, it was also clear not all was rosy between them – something that became more and more obvious towards the end of Mane’s time at Anfield.
Salah has now revealed that was certainly the case.
“Yes, there was tension with Sadio,” the Egyptian superstar said in an interview with French outlet L’Equipe.
“Mind you, we were professional until the end, I don’t think it affected the team. It’s human to want more, I understand that, he’s a competitor.
“Off the pitch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other.”
That brewing tension came to a head on a few occasions, including an infamous row which saw Mane explode – and calmed down by James Milner – after being substituted during a 3-0 win over Burnley in their title-winning 2019/20 season.
The Senegal star was fuming at Salah after he decided to go for goal himself rather than play an easy pass that would have presented Mane with a clearer chance to score.
Many speculated that a perceived selfishness, a ruthless desire to get goals and their individual pursuit of the Golden Boot was driving a wedge between them.
Asked about that, Salah was blunt.
“I don’t care,” he said. “People can think what they want, it’s their right.
“But I invite everyone to note that the person who provided Mane with the most assists is me.
“We can look at the facts, but it’s obviously easier to throw out phrases like that; it makes the headlines, I know how it works.
“As long as it remains within the limits of respect, that’s fine with me. But that doesn’t mean that this opinion is true.
“At the end of the day, I know what I did, and my conscience is clear.”
Salah and Mane ultimately went their separate ways in 2022 when the Senegalese superstar decided to leave Liverpool for Bayern Munich.
The £27million move didn’t work out for him, though, despite winning the Bundesliga title in his one and only season with the German giants.
After a dressing room bust-up that reportedly saw Mane punch teammate Leroy Sane in the face, he made the surprise move to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, where the Liverpool and Manchester United heroes have become firm friends.
Now 33, the forward is approaching a century of appearances in the Middle East and currently boasts a record of 32 goals and 24 assists in 89 games.
And while he helped Al Nassr win the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023, he and Ronaldo are yet to taste title victory in the Saudi Pro League having finished runners-up last season, while they are way off the pace this season down in fourth.
