Former Liverpool star slams Mane over ‘worst excuse’ for wanting to leave Anfield
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has fired a dig at Sadio Mane over the “worst excuse” for wanting to leave a club he’s “ever heard”.
There have been widespread reports in recent weeks which claim the Senegal international has asked the Reds hierarchy to leave the club this summer.
Mane has one year remaining on his deal at Liverpool with no sign of progress on a new contract to stay at Anfield.
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Speaking on Friday, Mane suggested that a majority of the Senegalese population wanted to see him leave Liverpool and that he would follow through with their wish this summer.
Mane told reporters: “Like everyone else, I’m on social media and I see the comments. Isn’t it between 60 to 70% of Senegalese want me to leave Liverpool? I will do what they want.
“We will see soon! Don’t be in a hurry because we will see this together. The future will tell us.”
However, when pushed on his comments following Senegal’s 3-1 victory over Benin on Saturday, Mane backtracked and insisted that he was just “joking”.
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Mane said: “I spoke yesterday while joking with a bit of humour and it was everywhere.
“I think we’ll stop there. Liverpool is a club I respect a lot. The fans adopted me since day one. Regarding the future, we’ll see.”
But Enrique thinks his will to leave Liverpool this summer is more to do with money than the opinion of the Senegalese public.
Enrique posted on Instagram: “The worst excuse I ever heard from a player to a leave a club.
“He is and will stay as a legend for us but please Sadio you want to leave because they pay you more somewhere else and is fair but putting the excuse of the Senegalese people…”
Liverpool have reportedly rejected a bid of an initial £21m and an extra £4m in add-ons from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for Mane.
The report in The Times adds that the Reds are keen to get as much money as possible for Mane with Benfica striker Darwin Nunez on their radar as a possible replacement.