Sadio Mane was reportedly unhappy with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for backing teammate Virgil van Dijk for last year’s Ballon d’Or.
Mane impressed in 2018-19 with 26 goals to propel Liverpool towards a sixth Champions League success and almost clinched a first Premier League title since 1990.
But it was Van Dijk who gathered personal acclaim, clinching the PFA Player of the Year and second place behind Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or.
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And according France Football, it was Klopp’s support for Van Dijk that left Mane upset with his coach.
It comes amid reported interest from Real Madrid to the tune of £132million, who are believed to be the only club Mane would consider leaving for.
Mane finished fourth in the list, just outside of the top three of Messi, Van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Klopp said back in December that it ‘would have been right’ if his towering centre-back had claimed the coveted individual prize.
“Things like this are decisions made by journalists. I see it slightly different and a lot of people see it slightly different but that’s absolutely no problem,” he said last year.
“Lionel Messi, I’ve said probably 500,000 times in my life already, is probably the best player I saw in my lifetime. Very early in my life I saw Franz Beckenbauer and Diego Maradona but I’ve seen Lionel Messi more.
“I don’t know how the others would have played nowadays – probably exceptional – but Lionel Messi is here now and he has won it six times and Cristiano [Ronaldo] five times but last season I cannot remember a more impressive season from a defender ever. Honestly. So it would have been right if Virg won it.”
Mane was hoping to become the second African after George Weah to claim the award in its history.
The Senegal international has been outstanding again this season with Liverpool on the verge of winning the league.
He scored 18 times before the season was brought to a sudden halt by the coronavirus pandemic.
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