Been a long long long time since i've been this gutted about a player leaving
Mane is a modern day Liverpool legend. The start of his Liverpool career was just so electric and the goal then celebration just feels like such a huge moment even though it wasn't the usual defining moment people remember. Him coming in really set the ball rolling on some incredible times with Klopp managing us and that goal was outrageous, to this day I still love the image of him leaping onto Klopps back after scoring.
He had his critics due to a slightly less aesthetically pleasing style of play, not the most flawless of first touches, had a knack of scoring while falling
but fucking hell was he an elite forward and that front 3 had the whole world of football talking. At this club if you are in the conversation for best winger with John Barnes then you've made a huge impact.
A lot has been said about him recently but personally i'll only have fond memories of Mane. There are very very few footballers I can think of, especially in recent years who have been so effective in moving positions and reinventing themselves and I dont think that gets nearly enough attention when it comes to Mane, that and the fact the guy just doesn't know when he's beaten, if any player summed up the never say die attitude of this club in the Klopp era it's Mane. We've seen countless stories of the guy doing the things people just dont associate with footballers, smashed phone, cleaning toilets, spending vast amounts on helping those from his home country and reading some of the finer details of those actions recently just left me thinking 'typical Mane'.
I wish him the best of luck at Bayern, I hope he wins a lot there and is really loved at the club, everyone approaches and processes thing different but I dont get the constant groans when a player fights tooth and nail for the club from day one and eventually decides to take on a new challenge. No faking injuries, no running down his contract, no using his agent to badmouth the club, just hard work and a departure followed by respectful words and appreciation of the fans and the club, calling himself a 'small part' again sums up the man.
