Sadio Mane Exposes the Shocking Reason He Snubbed Manchester United for Liverpool

Sadio Mané has revealed why he rejected a potential move to Manchester United, occurring one year prior to his eventual transfer to Liverpool.

Mané entered English football as a relatively unknown talent from Red Bull Salzburg, signing with Southampton during the closing moments of the 2014 summer transfer period.

The Senegalese forward made an impact with 10 goals across 30 Premier League appearances as Southampton climbed to seventh place, marking their finest league position in a quarter-century. However, Manchester United faced significant ridicule when speculation about their interest in Mané surfaced in 2015.

This occurred while United were falling behind in the pursuit of three-time Champions League victor Pedro, who ultimately chose Chelsea, leading supporters and journalists to criticize the shift in attention to Mané, who remained a relatively untested young talent.

Looking back, Mané would have been an extraordinary acquisition. Following another strong campaign for Southampton in 2015–16, Liverpool secured his services for £36 million ($47.1 million). Mané claimed six major honors with Liverpool—including both the Premier League title and Champions League trophy. In 2022, he earned recognition as the world's second-best player in the Ballon d'Or voting.

Mané has acknowledged his strong interest in joining Manchester United, but explained that he declined the opportunity due to worries about securing consistent minutes in a squad featuring Ángel Di María, Memphis Depay, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. Notably, Di María and Van Persie departed that summer, while Depay failed to meet expectations.

Van Gaal failed to provide sufficient assurance to Mané that the timing was appropriate for his career development.

"I had discussions with Van Gaal during that period. Rooney was part of the squad. Di María was there as well... and Depay was present too. After they missed out on me, they acquired [Anthony] Martial," Mané shared in a recent video from Rio Ferdinand Presents on YouTube.

"Van Gaal contacted me saying, 'Mané, how are things? What's your situation?' He told me, 'I want you to join Manchester United.' So I consulted with my representative.

"[Van Gaal explained], 'We'll determine what's optimal, as I recognize your abilities and believe you can contribute to the team, while we can also develop you into an even better player.' I responded, 'My concern is: you already have Depay, Rooney, Di María, and Van Persie... where would I feature?' That was my inquiry, since playing time is crucial for me.

"He replied, 'I understand your capabilities, you're talented. However, if you perform well in training and make a strong impression, you'll earn playing time. But we also have other quality players.' His reasoning didn't fully persuade me. At that moment, I wasn't prepared, I must admit. I was still developing. I required additional guidance and perhaps one or two more seasons to reach my desired level. Since I was still at Southampton and lacked consistency. So we decided, 'We'll consider it.'"

Mané also disclosed a meeting with Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur at their training facility during the same timeframe, finding himself "more persuaded by their vision than Manchester United's proposal." Eventually, he chose to remain for another season.

"Manchester United had too many complications... the issue was an excess of established stars," he stated.

Louis van Gaal's Ambitious Man Utd Transfer Targets

Four years following his 2016 departure, occurring days after capturing the FA Cup to deliver the club's first significant silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, Van Gaal provided a comprehensive interview to FourFourTwo and revealed all the players he had hoped the club would acquire.

"I pursued Robert Lewandowski, but when that became challenging, I attempted to secure Gonzalo Higuaín as an alternative. Prior to my arrival, I had also discussed Neymar with the board," the Dutch manager revealed.

"When you're at United, you must have ambitious goals—[Neymar] would have been valuable for the club commercially in terms of merchandise sales, and I sought pace on the flanks. For this purpose, I also pursued Sadio Mané and Riyad Mahrez.

Expanding to other areas of the field, Van Gaal continued: "Thomas Müller was among my preferred choices, and for central midfield, I targeted N'Golo Kanté. I even attempted to bring in James Milner, who was advancing in age but offered versatility and leadership qualities. Defensively, I wanted Sergio Ramos and Mats Hummels, as our backline wasn't the most effective at playing out from deep positions.

"These represented my primary objectives, but we failed to secure any of them. I'm uncertain why, since as the coach I wasn't part of transfer discussions. Following my departure, players like Mahrez and Kanté joined Manchester City and Chelsea respectively, while United couldn't acquire them. I found that quite puzzling."