‘I agreed terms with Man Utd – but I snubbed them at the last minute to join Liverpool’

Sadio Mane was close to joining Manchester United before choosing Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool – where he became a club icon.

After carving out a promising early Premier League career with Southampton – where he scored the league’s fastest-ever hat-trick against Aston Villa in 2015 – the Senegalese forward was in demand and had suitors for him in 2016.

Yet things could have turned out very differently, as the 32-year-old has since revealed that he could have called Old Trafford home had it not been for favoring the German over the then Red Devils boss, Louis van Gaal.

“I was very, very close (to moving to Man Utd) because I even met them,” Mane said in 2019. “So I was coming, I was there, I spoke to the boss and was there before (Van Gaal).

“They made an offer, but in the same week, Klopp called me. He said: ‘I think this is the right club. The right coach for you, and I think you’d better go to Liverpool’. For me I think it was the right time too. I said, ‘I’m going to Liverpool.'”

After lifting six major titles on Merseyside, Mane left the Premier League in 2022 for a short spell in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich before moving to his current club, Al-Nassr, in Saudi Arabia.

Mane’s career could have looked very different on paper had he chosen United – who face Arne Slott’s men on Sunday looking to claim the scalp and move towards mid-table – although he admitted on leaving Liverpool that his time was there is valuable.

“Obviously, it’s strange – indeed, very strange – to no longer be a Liverpool player after spending six years at Anfield,” Mane told Liverpool’s club website in 2022. “But of course, I had time fantastic, unbelievable time, and since my first day, I really enjoyed training and playing at Anfield, especially in front of these amazing fans.

“From the first day, I came to the club, I spoke to the boss when I was at Southampton, and I think at that time, we weren’t even in the Champions League.

“He called me, and I said, ‘Sure.’ I decided in my heart that I am coming to Liverpool because that is where I see myself, and for me, this is the right time and the right club to achieve everything. So, I can say, of course, we won a lot, and I had a great, great time there.”