Mohamed Salah says there was “tension” between himself and Sadio Mane while they both played for Liverpool, but added they “always respected each other”.
Mane joined Liverpool in 2016, with Salah heading to Anfield a year later. They regularly played on either wing until Mane departed for Bayern Munich in 2022, having scored 120 goals during his six-year spell in Merseyside.
The relationship between the two forwards was brought into question following Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Burnley in 2019, during which Mane reacted furiously as Salah opted to shoot instead of square the ball to the now-Al Nassr forward. Mane was substituted shortly after the incident and appeared to be calmed down by players and staff on the bench.
“Yes, there was tension with Sadio,” Salah said in an interview with France Football, via 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.”
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The pairing of Salah and Mane was Liverpool’s main source of goals throughout the five years they played with one another, often appearing in a front three alongside Roberto Firmino. Salah scored 19 goals and assisted 10 when Liverpool won the Premier League in 2020, while Mane scored 18 and assisted seven.
Salah pointed to his assist record to dismiss suggestions he acted selfishly in the Liverpool frontline.
“People can think what they want, it’s their right,” Salah said. “But I invite everyone to note that the person who provided Mané with the most assists is me (18). 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.”
Suggestions of tensions between Salah (Egypt) and Mane (Senegal) also stemmed from the fact they played for rival African nations. The most notable of their international clashes against one another came in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final, in which Mane’s Senegal triumphed 4-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw.
nytimes.com
