Fabinho has revealed that he requested Sadio Mane to stay put at Liverpool but the latter had made his mind up to call it quits on Merseyside this summer.
Mane became the first major outgoing from Jurgen Klopp’s squad in the transfer window with the Senegal international forward signing for Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on a three-year contract.
Klopp did not waste time in lining up a quality replacement for his outgoing forward with Benfica’s 34-goal dangerman Darwin Nunez signing for Liverpool in a potential club-record transfer.
There had been attempts made by the Liverpool camp to convince Mane on extending his six-year-long stint at Anfield and pen a new long-term deal but the 30-year-old had his heart set on making the move to Germany.
Liverpool’s midfield man Fabinho admits in an interview with The Athletic that he tried to talk Mane out of wanting to leave Liverpool but his efforts went in vain with the former Southampton man eager to sign for Bayern who had earmarked him as a top name on their shopping list.
“At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave.
“I was always saying to him, ‘Come on Sadio, stay here. You can win the Premier League and the Champions League right here, don’t leave’. But I think he had already made his mind up. We had to respect that.
“Sadio had a really good story in a Liverpool shirt. He played for six years here and during that time he won everything you can win and he decided that he wanted a new challenge. That’s OK.
“After the parade in Liverpool, everyone said goodbye to him. We knew there was a good chance he would be leaving. I always kept some hope that he would still stay but then it was all confirmed.
“Losing Sadio is a big loss. He was one of our best players but it’s something that we can’t change. We have to deal with it. Now other players have to step up and take on greater responsibility.”
