Following Liverpool’s attempt at the quadruple last season, the club looked to solidify its dominance with the addition of €80 million man Darwin Nunez from Benfica, and by tying down main man Mohamed Salah to a new deal, putting months of speculation to rest.
However, with new arrivals and new commitments come departures, as Senegalese forward Sadio Mane left Merseyside for Bavaria, to join Bundesliga side Bayern Munchen. Mane made 269 appearances for the Reds, scoring 120 times whilst assisting 48.
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann feels that Liverpool may have kept the wrong player on the books. Speaking courtesy of Freebets.com, he said: “Well hindsight is a beautiful thing. When I was asked the question of which one of the two (Salah or Mane) is more important I always said Mane.”
@merseysportlive Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann would have kept Sadio Mane over Mohamed Salah last summer, do you agree?
The 2005 Champions League winner continued: “So for me, Mane would always have been the one I’d try to keep. He wanted to go, they got a few quid for him.
“What I think you also have to bear in mind when it comes to new contracts, I think Salah signed a contract when he was 29/30 years old. Of course, you have to reward people for what they’ve done, but when you give somebody a five-year contract on a huge weekly salary, you’ve got to see what he’s going to bring us for the next five seasons.”
Salah was heading into final year of his contract before signing a new deal in the summer of 2022, which now sees him remain at Anfield until 2025. Hamann, who won the treble with Liverpool in 2001, added: “By the end of his contract he will be probably 34. Will he be the same player when he gets to 32/33 because he relies on his pace? Has he still got the same pace?
“I remember in my days, past 30, clubs would only sign a one-year extension, maybe with an option for another season. Now, this contract runs now until he’s 34 and I know hindsight is a beautiful thing, I think they took a bit of a chance and you can only hope it comes back good.”
Despite Liverpool’s form taking a seismic dip this season, ‘The Egyptian King’ has still registered 17 goals and seven assists in 31 appearances, despite playing in an underperforming side. Liverpool fans can only speculate whether their fortunes would be different had Mane remained at Anfield, but it’s hard to dispute the decision to award Liverpool’s ’11’ a new deal.
