Did Liverpool do Sadio Mane a favor with sale to Bayern Munich?

Per a report from Sky journalist Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool FC has accepted a bid from Bayern Munich for star attacker Sadio Mane, which is said to be less than 40 million euros. This was Bayern’s third bid, with the first two rejected and said to be ‘laughable’, with Liverpool insisting on 50 million euros. So why did Liverpool accept this third and final bid?

As reported by Fabrizio Romano and later repeated on Sport Bible, the reason for this acquiescence is that Mane “asked to leave in a respectful way.” The reports suggests that Liverpool respects and appreciates Mane for his eight years of service at the club and, in light of this gratitude, decided to compromise on the transfer fee to allow Mane his wish to leave.

This deal closely mirrors a similar deal that happened just in 2020, when Thiago Alcantara swapped Bayern for Liverpool after seven years at the club. Bayern were also initially reluctant to let Thiago go, yet reduced the asking price in the final weeks of the window.

Those more pessimistic might claim that Bayern and Liverpool both lowered their asking prices because the clubs were desperate to earn money for players in the last year of their contract. And, honestly, that’s entirely possible. But it’s also very possible that both clubs really did want to honor legendary players and compromised in order to make them happy, with Liverpool ultimately returning the favor that Bayern gave in 2020. That’s just a much happier way of looking at it.

If you want some thoughts on Sadio Mane’s pending arrival in Munich, check out our Weekend Warm-up Podcast: