Sadio Mané has revealed why he turned down Manchester United before joining Liverpool, saying the presence of established stars at Old Trafford made him hesitant.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the Senegal forward explained that he held discussions with then-United manager Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2015 while still at Southampton.
“Manchester United called me that time,” Mané said. “I was talking to Van Gaal. Rooney was there. And Di María was there. And [Memphis] Depay was there. When they failed to get me, they bought [Anthony] Martial.
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“My question was: you have Depay, Rooney, Di María, Van Persie. So where am I going to play? He said if I trained well and impressed, I would get minutes. But I wasn’t convinced.”
Mané admitted he felt he needed more time to develop before moving to a club of United’s size. “At the time, I was not ready. I was young. I still needed guidance and another year or two to become what I wanted to be.”
The forward ultimately joined Liverpool in 2016 for £36 million ($47m), helping Jurgen Klopp’s side win both the Champions League and Premier League.
Mané also revealed he considered Tottenham Hotspur that summer and was attracted to Mauricio Pochettino’s project. “I visited the training ground, met the coach, and I was more convinced than by the Man United project. There were just too many big players there.”