Sadio Mané revealed that he turned down a move to Manchester United a year prior to joining Liverpool, stating he was “not convinced” by Louis van Gaal’s promise that he would play ahead of stars like Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, and Ángel Di María.
The Senegalese forward made this admission during an appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, discussing his dialogue with then-Manchester United manager Van Gaal in the summer of 2015 while he was at Southampton.
Ultimately, Mané opted against a transfer to United and secured a £36 million ($47 million) deal with Liverpool a year later, where he played a vital role in Jurgen Klopp’s team achieving success in both theChampions League and the Premier League.
Now 33 and playing with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, Mané admitted he didn’t feel ready to join United when Van Gaal tried to convince him that he would receive ample playing time at Old Trafford.
“Manchester United reached out to me at that time,” Mané explained. “I had discussions with Van Gaal.”
“I spoke to Van Gaal during that period. Rooney was there, Di María was there, and also [Memphis Depay] was included.”
“When they couldn’t bring me in, they ended up signing [Anthony] Martial.”
“Van Gaal reached out to me, saying, ‘Mané, how are you? What’s going on?’ He expressed that he wanted me to come to Manchester United.”
“I replied, ‘Really?’ He confirmed, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ll discuss it with my agent.'”
“Van Gaal then remarked, ‘We’ll evaluate what works best, as I know you’re a talented player who can contribute to the team, and we can also help you improve further.'”
“I then asked him, ‘My question is: with Depay, Rooney, Di María, and Van Persie in the mix, where exactly will I fit in?’ I emphasized that I wanted to play.”
“He assured me, ‘I recognize your talent, you’re a great player. But if you train well and leave a good impression, you’ll get your chance. However, we also have other talented players.'”
“At that time, I wasn’t fully convinced by his reasoning. I had a conversation with the coach, but he told me that I’d play if I was performing well; otherwise…”
“At that moment, I realized I wasn’t prepared; I was quite young and needed more guidance. I required a couple more years to grow into the player I aspired to be.”
“My time at Southampton hadn’t made me consistent enough. So, we ultimately agreed to leave it as it was.”
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In addition, Mané had talks with Tottenham Hotspur that same summer, expressing that he was more enticed by the idea of playing under Mauricio Pochettino than making the switch to United.
“I had a meeting with Tottenham. At the same time, Pochettino contacted my agent, saying, ‘I want Sadio to come to Tottenham’s training ground.'”
“A week later, I visited Tottenham’s facilities, met the coach, and engaged in discussions with him, which ultimately left me feeling more convinced than I was about the prospect of joining Manchester United.”
“The issue with United was that there were just too many high-profile players.”