The image that proves Klopp wasn't wrong to let Mane go

Cristiano Ronaldo scored again in the Arab Club World Cup for Al Nassr to take his tally to 841 goals as a professional footballer. The Portuguese striker, who had just scored with a header against Zamalek, opened the scoring against Raja with a left-footed strike that goalkeeper Anas Zniti could not keep out. The Portuguese's strike sent the Prince Sultan Stadium into a frenzy, and his celebrations caught the imagination of his new team-mate, Sadio Mané, who performed the Sporting Lisbon-trained player's trademark "Siu".

Sadio Mané has gone from being cheered at the Ballon d'Or gala to the Saudi Premier League. Not a year has passed since Mané came second at the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony. Only Karim Benzema was better than the African player. Months after Mané's achievement, the Senegalese player left Bayern Munich through the back door for Saudi Arabia. The Saudi league has more and more stars, but for the moment it is far from the success of the European competitions. The African's footballing downfall began when Mané ended his spell at Liverpool after six seasons at the highest level.

He wanted new challenges and Bayern was the place he chose. One season later it is clear that it was not the right move. Mané won everything under Jurgen Klopp, but he wanted to take a different turn in his career. And Bayern needed to fill the gap Lewandowski left in the Bavarian front line. So the deal was simple. Mané would improve his emoluments at Bayern and Liverpool would receive a tidy €32m. It was a win-win. Months later it wasn't.

<strong>The reason</strong>

Mané's time at Bayern has not turned out well at all. After shining at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal: he beat his friend Salah's Egypt on penalties. A good year with Liverpool (Champions League finalist) allowed him to be the Ballon d'Or alternative to Benzema. His reputation made him the chosen one to lead Nagelsmann's Bayern, but it didn't work out. 12 goals in 38 games in the German shirt. The 2022-2023 season was marked by a heated episode, including an assault on his teammate Sané. And by an untimely fibula injury he picked up with Bayern in the Bundesliga, which prevented him from going to the World Cup in Qatar defending his country's colours. A horrible year that he was unable to put right.