Liverpool legend Mane rejected Man Utd transfer after Van Gaal call: ‘Not convinced by his explanation’

Jason Soutar
Man Utd v Liverpool: Sadio Mane and Alexis Sanchez during a match
Sadio Mane and Alexis Sanchez during a match

Sadio Mane has revealed that Manchester United signed Anthony Martial in 2015 after failing in their bid to tempt him away from Southampton.

After his first year in England, Mane received calls from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but he decided to stay at Southampton for another season before signing for Liverpool.

The Senegalese forward went on to become a Reds legend, scoring 120 goals in 269 games and winning the Premier League in 2019/20 as well as the Champions League in 2018/19.

But things could have been very different for both Mane and Liverpool. Manchester United had the chance to sign him in the 2015 summer transfer window, yet failed to convince him to leave the Saints.

‘I spoke to Van Gaal’ – Mane snubbed Man Utd before Liverpool move

Mane has now revealed that he held talks with then-United manager Louis van Gaal but was unconvinced by his pitch. He went into the discussions feeling uncertain, especially with Wayne Rooney, Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay all already at the club.

“Manchester United called me that time. I was talking to Van Gaal,” he said on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel.

“Rooney was there. And Di Maria was there. And Depay was there.”

Mane then revealed that Martial became United’s second choice and explained how the conversation with Van Gaal unfolded.

“When they failed to get me, they bought Martial,” he continued.

“Van Gaal called me and he said, ‘Mane, how are you? What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I want you to come to Manchester United. I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘OK. Now I’m talking to my agent.’ [Van Gaal said] ‘We’ll see what is the best, because I know you’re a good player and you can help the team, and we can help you also to become better players’.

“And then I said, ‘OK, so my question: you have Depay, you have Rooney, you have Di Maria, you have Van Persie… so where am I going to play?’ That was my question, because me, I want to play.

“He said, ‘I know your talent, you’re good. But if you do good training, good impression, you will play. But we have another player which is also good.’

“I was not convinced about his explanation. I talked to the coach, but he told me that I will play if I’m good. But at the time, I was not ready, I can say. I was young. I still needed someone to help me more. And one or two more years to become what I want to be. Because I was still in Southampton; I was not consistent. And then we said, ‘OK, we’ll see’.”

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Liverpool legend Mane could have joined Spurs in 2015

There were also discussions with Tottenham that summer, and Mauricio Pochettino’s pitch left a far stronger impression than the one from Manchester United.

Mane added: “I have a meeting with Tottenham. At the same time, Mauricio Pochettino called him [my agent] and he said, ‘I want to have Sadio to come to Tottenham training ground.’

“And then I go to Tottenham training ground one week after. I see the facility, I meet the coach, I talk to him, and I was more convinced than the Man United project. Because Man United… the problem was too many big players.”

Sadio Mane: A Liverpool legend

  • Formed an iconic front three with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino
  • Won five major trophies with Liverpool
  • Named Liverpool Player of the Season after his debut campaign
  • Joined the Premier League 100 club with 21 goals for Southampton and 90 for Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane will go down as one of the best attacking trios in Premier League history, if not the best.

They were a devastating force, with Firmino’s intelligence perfectly complementing the pace, power and clinical finishing of Salah and Mane.

Just imagine if we never got that because Mane went to Manchester United…where careers go to die.

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Manchester United Sadio Mane

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