A fallout with his teammate left a good percentage of the squad puzzled of his actions since securing a move to the German giants just last summer.
Sadio Mané was well received when he completed his move to Bayern Munich from Liverpool last summer. After the Senegalese decided not to continue with the Reds that never walk alone due to the handling of his contract in recent years.
Also wanting to take up a different challenge in the later stages of his career, the Bavarians, one of the best and most reputable club in Europe gave him the opportunity to achieve that.
Not only that, he was made the highest earner in the Bundesliga but one thing that might not have been well thought is his compatibility with what the club was going to be missing.
The departure of Robert Lewandowski obviously left a big hole to fill in the squad but instead of investing on a direct replacement, the club went a winger in Sadio Mané, when the already have many of the likes.
Lewandowski assured Bayern at least 40 goals a season in the last couple of years and a source of goal is needed – though Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has stepped up but obviously can not match the strength of the Pole.
Mané made a great start to life in Germany, scoring on his debut as Bayern beat RB Leipzig in the Red Bull Arena to claim the German Super Cup title.
Mané also starred on his Bundesliga debut, scoring Bayern’s third goal in a 6-1 win over Frankfurt in the league’s curtain raiser.
He went on to score three more goals in the next four games before he embacked on a five game drought but was back scoring again after the September ending international break.
Mané scored a couple of goals more but his highlights has been his bad misses and underwhelming performances, which as affected his relationship with the fans.
He reportedly had a heated moment with former coach, Julian Nagelsmann, at the end of their Champions League round of 16 second leg home win over PSG. It was revealed that Mané was not pleased with just seven minutes of action and also complained about the coach’s tactics.
Teammates noticed the manager was intimated by Mané’s angry speech and after he was started in the following game, the other players were not pleased.
However, this fallout with Sané is currently being discussed by Bayern Munich’s and it will not go unpunished. Fine, suspension and even separation from the first team squad is being considered.
Punching your teammate because you don’t like the way they talked to you on the pitch of play is not ethical, and the club is just about to make him realize the penalty.
Where did it go wrong for one of Africa’s best talents in what was viewed as the best move for an African player in recent time ?
There’s only one answer to that as we await more to be revealed and that answer is, he found himself in a place where he is really not needed.
Sané, Gnabry and Coman have hold the flank for Bayern before his arrival and all are quality players. While the likes of Jamal Musiala can also be deployed there.
What Bayern needed after the departure of Robert Lewandowski was a No.9 and not a Sadio Mané, who had issues with Jürgen Klopp for being played in that position just to create a way for Luis Diaz in the XI.
That decision literally played a part in Julian Nagelsmann losing his job and now the player himself has been caught up by the unfortunately aftermath of a poor decision by the Bayern board.
Hopefully a solution will be arrived but at this time, one thing is sure and that is Sadio Mané can fit in better elsewhere than in Bayern.
It has been said that Liverpool have missed Sadio Mané and now it is clear that the 31year old is not faring any better away from the club as well.
Author : Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
1 Comment
This incidence makes me remember this saying “how are the mighty fallen”….