“It made us closer” – Sadio Mané opens up on clash with Mohamed Salah at Liverpool

Sadio Mané has finally addressed the long-discussed moment of tension between himself and Mohamed Salah during Liverpool’s 2019 match against Burnley, revealing that the incident ultimately strengthened their bond rather than damaging it.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the Senegalese star, who joined Liverpool in 2016 and spent six successful seasons at Anfield, reflected on the heated moment when he lashed out on the bench after Salah opted to shoot instead of making a simple pass, only to miss.

The flashpoint fuelled years of speculation about the rivalry between the two forwards.

But according to Mané, what many perceived as the breaking point was actually the spark for an honest conversation.

“Great player. Good player. Great player. Everybody say the same. But it’s not… I don’t think it’s a bad thing. And me, I’m someone who is quiet, but I’m friendly with everybody in the team… Mo is also a very nice guy. He’s a nice guy,” Mané said.

Mané admitted he was genuinely furious at the time.

“I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he didn’t pass me, he should pass me. That’s why I was really, really angry after the game.”

However, behind the scenes, the encounter took a very different turn. Mané revealed that Salah approached him the following day.

“He came to me. He wants to talk to me, but he doesn’t know when, how to say… And the next day he came to me. He said, ‘Can we talk?’ I said, ‘OK, no problem.’”

Mané continued: “[Salah] said, ‘You think I didn’t want to pass you? I didn’t score. Bobby scored. But even when I got the ball, I was not thinking or even seeing you to pass… Honestly, if I could pass and I saw you, I will.’”

Mané reassured him.

“I said, ‘No, don’t worry. It passed, it passed. I was angry because I think you could pass me more with your quality.’”

What followed, he said, brought them even closer.

“I think since this day, we become even closer… Usually when you see the ball, you don’t see nobody. So for me, he didn’t do it personally. He just want to score.”

The two African stars won a lot together at Liverpool, lifting both the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League trophies.