Liverpool have rejected an opening bid coming from Bayern Munich for the services of Sadio Mane, according to multiple sources. Paul Joyce, the northern football correspondent for The Times and as reliable as they come when talking about either Merseyside club, says the offer consisted of £21 million with another £4m to come in form of add-ons under certain conditions, such as the Senegalese forward being involved in a Champions League-winning campaign for the Bavarians.
The minds of the people calling the shots of the financial nature at Bayern are hard to fathom in this matter. The amount reported is obviously far too modest for a player who has been in Ballon d’Or talks for the past few years, even described as the best by one Lionel Messi at one point, and Liverpool rejecting it without hesitation surely didn’t come as a surprise to anyone despite the facts that Mane has turned 30 and is about to enter the final year of contract at Anfield.
Mane joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for a reported fee of around £37m, and the Merseysiders surely won’t be interested letting him leave for just over half the amount given how much the Senegal captain has grown over the six years at the club. Bayern will have known that and this bid was probably meant to merely test the water, before they come back with a serious one.
It remains to be seen whether the two six-time European champions will be able to reach an agreement in time. Liverpool could well refuse to do any kind of deal past a certain point in the summer transfer window, not wanting to be stuck with an extremely limited timeframe to sign a suitable replacement.
Meanwhile, Joyce also says Liverpool are close to agreeing a new one-year contract for 36-year-old James Milner, on terms significantly reduced.
Liverpool have turned down Bayern Munich’s opening bid for Sadio Mane. It was for £21m guaranteed, plus £4m in add-ons payable if, for example, Bayern won the Champions League.
Also, James Milner close to signing new deal on significantly reduced terms.— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) June 5, 2022
