Sadio Mane has opened up on how Jurgen Klopp called him to apologise ahead of the Senegalese forward’s mega-money move to Liverpool, as well as his reason for snubbing Manchester United
16:00, 20 Nov 2025
Sadio Mane has revealed Jurgen Klopp apologised to him(Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents / YouTube)
Sadio Mane has revealed that Jurgen Klopp apologised to him for failing to sign him for Borussia Dortmund ahead of his move from Southampton to Liverpool. The Senegalese forward enjoyed an illustrious eight-year stint at Anfield after Klopp signed him from the Saints in 2016 in a £34million move.
However, the two seemed destined to link up in the Bundesliga years sooner. Klopp was at the reins of Dortmund in 2014 when he spotted the suitability of Mane, who was thriving with Red Bull Salzburg, for his high-pressure style of play.
A deal ultimately failed to come to fruition at the time, however, with Mane instead joining Southampton before Klopp made his way to Liverpool the following year as Brendan Rodgers’ successor. Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast on Thursday, Mane explained: “I met Klopp. He wanted to bring me to Dortmund, but it didn’t work out.”
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The two crossed paths two years later in the Premier League, with Klopp still insistent on working with Mane – albeit on English soil rather than German. Mane added: “So when he was in Liverpool, and I was also making my way, I go to Southampton. And that was, ‘OK, we meet again.’
“He called me. He said, ‘Listen, it didn’t work out. It was my fault. So what do you think? We work again or?’ And then I go to meet [Mauricio] Pochettino [at Tottenham]. I say, ‘OK, so make sure you agree with my agent, everything. I will come to Tottenham.’ And I come back home, three days after, Klopp called me. I say, ‘This is my Klopp. This is the right…this is what I want.’
“I say, ‘I give you my word. Make sure, some clubs want me, but no, I’m coming there.’ And at the time Liverpool was not even [in the] Champions League; Tottenham was playing Champions League.”
He also claimed that Klopp apologised for not signing him for Dortmund in 2014. He added: “Klopp called me. First of all, I say, ‘Coach…’ He said, ‘How are you? It was my fault, you didn’t come to Dortmund. Because, you know, I wanted to come there. I met him first. I was not happy.’
Mane enjoyed a trophy-laden term with Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
“And he apologised for this. And he said, ‘We will build the team no one wants to play against. And then, if we grow up together, you will play every game.'”
After securing his move to Liverpool in the summer of 2016, Mane managed 120 goals and 46 assists for the Reds from 269 appearances across all competitions, clinching a Premier League title, an FA Cup, a League Cup and a coveted Champions League at Anfield.
However, his career could have taken a different turn altogether had he signed for Manchester United. Explaining why a move to United fell through, he added: “Manchester United called me that time, the same time. I was talking to [Louis] Van Gaal.
“When they failed to get me, they bought [Anthony] Martial. Because he called me – Van Gaal called me. He said, ‘Mane, how are you? What are you doing? How is…?’ I said, ‘I’m good.’ 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. 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.'”
Klopp eventually signed Mane for Liverpool after their honest phone call(Image: Getty Images)
However, Mane explained that a wealth of talent in his position and van Gaal’s answer to one question ultimately put him off the idea of signing for the Red Devils. He continued: “And then I said, ‘OK, so my question: you have [Memphis] Depay, you have [Wayne] Rooney, you have [Angel] Di Maria, you have [Robin] Van Persie, I think the same. 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. And a few days after, the club called me. So I was waiting with my agent and my family.
“I talked to the coach, but he told me that I will play if I’m good; if not…But at the time, me, 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.
Sadio Mane was speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast(Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents / YouTube)
“And then we said, ‘OK, we’ll see.’ Because maybe Tottenham, I have a meeting with Tottenham. At the same time, Pochettino called him. He said, ‘I want to have Sadio to come to Tottenham training ground.’ And then I go to Tottenham training ground one week after.
“And I was… I see the facility, I meet the coach, I talk to him. And I was more convinced than the Man United project. Because Man U was too many… the problem was too many big players.”
Mane parted ways with Liverpool in 2022 to sign for Bayern Munich. However, after just one season with the Bavarians, he made the move to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where he still plays today.
Listen to the full Rio Meets Sadio Mané interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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