Outgoing Liverpool star Sadio Mane ‘met’ Man Utd chiefs after being made offer

Liverpool star Sadio Mane nearly joined their fierce rivals Manchester United.

Mane made the £34million switch from Southampton to the Anfield club in 2016 and has been influential in their resurgence under Jurgen Klopp. But he could have been sporting the red strip of United for the last six years instead.

The 30-year-old winger explained in an interview with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher how a phone call from Klopp changed the course of history. "I have to say, I was really close to going to Manchester United. I had the contract there, I had it all agreed," he told The Telegraph.

"It was all ready, but instead I thought, no, I want to go to Liverpool. I was convinced to go with Klopp's project. I still remember the first time I got the call from Klopp.

"I was watching TV. It was an action movie – because I love movies – and he said, 'Sadio, listen, I want to explain to you what happened at Dortmund'. That was when he thought of signing me for Dortmund and for some reason it didn't work out.

"He tried to explain and I said, 'it's okay, it happened'. I forgave him. Then he said, 'now I want you at Liverpool'. And I said, 'Okay, Dortmund is behind us, let's focus on the future.'

"He said, 'We have a big project at Liverpool and I want you to be part of it'. Then he asked what position I wanted, because he could see at Southampton I played on the right side and I used to play on the left.

"I said I prefer left, and then he said, 'but Coutinho is on the left!' So I said, never mind, I will play on the right. I could see myself in all the positions."

Who would you join if you were Mane? Let us know in the comments section.

Mane has gone on to score 120 goals in 269 appearances under Klopp. But their time together looks to be nearly over, with Reds chiefs unable to satisfy his contract demands.

A move to Bayern Munich is reportedly edging closer. Negotiations between Mane's representatives and the Bundesliga club are ongoing, but the two clubs are yet to reach an agreement on a fee.

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