Mohamed Salah reveals tension with former Liverpool teammate: ‘We weren’t close’
Tony Mogan
Mohamed Salah has admitted there ‘was always tension’ between him and former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, insisting they were ‘never close’.
Salah and Mane formed a fearsome front three alongside Robert Firmino which was the foundation of Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp.
Their relentless goal scoring form fired Liverpool to two Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019 – winning the latter – with the two sharing the Premier League Golden Boot the same season in the Premier League.
Mane left the club in 2022 to join Bayern Munich before leaving Germany to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi club Al Nassr.
Despite their success playing together, their relationship occasionally came under scrutiny. During a league match against Burnley in 2019, Mane reacted furiously when Salah opted to shoot for goal rather than pass to him while he was open, needing teammates on the bench to calm him down.
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Salah, who last month signed a new contract at Anfield, has now opened up on the relationship with his former teammate in an interview with L’Equipe.
‘Yes, there was tension with Sadio,’ Salah said.
Burnley FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League
Mane was fuming with Salah at a game against Burnley in 2019 (Picture: Getty)
‘But we were professional until the end. I don’t think it affected the team.
‘It’s human to want more, I understand that, he’s a competitor. Off the pitch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other.’
Salah added: ‘People can think what they want, it’s their right.
‘But I invite everyone to note that the person who provided Mane with the most assists is me. We can look at the facts, but it’s obviously easier to throw out phrases like that; it makes the headlines, I know how it works.
Liverpool FC v Crystal Palace - Premier League
The two were instrumental to Liverpool’s success (Picture: Getty Images)
‘As long as it remains within the limits of respect, that’s fine with me. But that doesn’t mean that this opinion is true. At the end of the day, I know what I did and my conscience is clear.’
At the time of the Burnley incident, Klopp laughed it off with Mane later explaining they were still ‘good friends’.
‘With Salah? It’s forgotten,’ Mane said.
‘Sometimes you have to say things face to face. These are things that happen in football, sometimes it happens that I am not given the pass.
‘But we have reconciled and become the good friends we were before.’
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