Bayern decide on Sadio Mané's future - could he return to Liverpool?
The Bundesliga leaders have reached a decision regarding the Senegalese forward’s future. Mané is under contract under 2025.
Sadio Mané's days at Bayern Munich are numbered. The German press cuncur that the German giants have reached a decision on the player’s future. Recent events have left the future of the Senegalese forward out of the picture and the club intends to dispense with him at the end of the season.
Mané joined Bayern from Liverpool on a 32 million euro deal last summer and is under contract until 2025. The Germans will try everything in their power to move the player on in June. From a sporting point of view, Mané doesn’t fit into Thomas Tüchel’s plans, as the coach feels he is incompatible with his current system. On top of that, the player is being criticized internally, and more so after the events that occurred last week when he punched his team mate Leroy Sané.
Despite his pleas not be punished and expelled from Bayern, Mané’s relationship with the rest of the squad is not ideal. That could partly be down to communication issues - he speaks French and can get by in English but the lingua franca in the Bayern dressing room is German, not the easiest language to pick up.
Sky journalist Florian Plettenberg reported, “Signing Mané was a mistake, especially considering his salary - he earns over 20 million euros a year. After his disappointing performances, a joke is circulating on Säbener Straße that Bayern have signed Mané's twin brother, not the real one, the Liverpool player...”
Could Mané return to Liverpool?
According to Football Insider, Mané wants to reverse the situation he is experiencing in Germany to return to the Premier League. Many Liverpool fans feel that Mané’s departure last summer triggered the team’s decline this season as it unbalanced the side - the Reds have missed his work rate, his pressing and association with his partners in attack.
But as far as Liverpool are concerned, it is almost impossible for them to take Mané back now - even though the player is highly thought of at Anfield. There are several reasons for that - the main one being that the club is facing a huge squad rebuild this summer, with a number of players reaching the end of their contracts and other positions have taken priority. The Reds reinforced their attack with left-sided forwards (Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo and Fabio Carvalho) and have Darwin Núñez playing in a centre role so there is no room for Mané - even with Roberto Firmino moving on at the end of the season.
Then there is the player’s age. Mané turned 31 last week and it would make no sense to bring a veteran player back into a squad which is already aging and needs rejuvenating. The current Liverpool squad has an average age of 26.6 but nine players are already over 30 and two others, Andy Robertson and Fabinho, will turn 30 next season.
So it appears that Mané’s brief adventure in the Bundesliga is about to come to an end and his intention is to return home - if not to Liverpool, to another Premier League club. It was in England, during his time at Southampton and Liverpool where we saw Mané in his prime. With Bayern, he has made 32 appearances, scoring 11 goals - six of them in the Bundesliga. He is currently suspended - when and whether he will return is anyone’s guess.