Jurgen Klopp bids emotional farewell to Sadio Mane as he leaves Liverpool for Bayern Munich

Sadio Mane won everything he could’ve possibly at Liverpool; the Premier League title, the Champions League, the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup, the UEFA Supercup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. As he completes his move to Bayern Munich, what’s been an incredible chapter for him comes to a respectful end and manager Jurgen Klopp bids him an emotional farewell as Liverpool says goodbye to one of their sparking heroes of recent times.

“It’s a big moment. There is no point in anyone trying to pretend otherwise. One of Liverpool’s greatest ever players is leaving and we must acknowledge how significant this is,” Klopp said, as per the Daily Mail.

Ever since joining from Southampton in the summer of 2016, Mane scored 120 goals for Liverpool from a total of 269 appearances across all competitions, while also adding a total of 48 assists. He was one of the driving forces behind Liverpool’s near-quadruple 2021/22 season, having bagged 16 Premier League goals and 5 in the Champions League.

Easily a fan favorite on Merseyside, Mane left Liverpool with loads of respect, and he’s personally said he’ll always remain a fan of Liverpool despite leaving to go abroad. While the bulk of Liverpool fans will be upset and saddened to see him leave, there’s no bad blood there with the way he’s departing.

“He leaves with our gratitude and our love. He leaves with his status among the greats guaranteed. And, yes, he leaves in a moment where he is one of the best players in world football. But we must not dwell on what we now lose, instead celebrate what we were privileged to have. The goals he scored, the trophies he won; a legend, for sure, but also a modern-day Liverpool icon,” Klopp stressed.

Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

Klopp certainly has a reputation from his time in both the Bundesliga and the Premier League for signing players and then making them exceptionally better, and Mane is a perfect exampled of that sentiment. When he was purchased from Southampton, no one could’ve expected just how effective of a player he would go on to be for Liverpool, as Klopp recollected.

“Since he first stepped through the door, he made us better. If someone had told us in that moment what he would go on to contribute and achieve for this club, I’m not sure it would have been possible to comprehend in that moment. Not the scale of it at least. Sadio made it all possible. To be that good for such a sustained period and continuously improve season on season — no matter how high he set his own bar in the previous one — is an example to any player anywhere on the planet that professionalism and dedication leads to reward,” Klopp explained.

Lastly, Klopp wished Mane all the best, diplomatically turning down the opportunity to take a dig at his former Bundesliga rivals in Bayern Munich from when he was Borussia Dortmund manager. “I respect completely his decision and I’m sure our supporters do also. If you love LFC, you have to love Sadio — non-negotiable. It is possible to do this while accepting our loss is Bayern’s gain. We wish him nothing but success in every match he plays in, unless, of course, it’s against us. His star will continue to rise, I have no doubts,” he said.

Interested in further discussion of the impact of the Sadio Mane transfer? Look no further than our podcast! In this special edition reaction show, we talked about everything from the impact of his signing on the club’s finances, to where he could play on the pitch. Listen to it below or at this link.