Sadio Mane reveals just how close he was to joining Manchester United ahead of Liverpool

Sadio Mane has admitted he was ‘really close’ to joining Manchester United before Jurgen Klopp intervened.

Mane is preparing to spearhead Liverpool’s attack when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris tomorrow night.

Since arriving from Southampton for £34 million in the summer of 2016, the Senegal international has been a key player at Anfield.

He’s helped the Reds become a European superpower once again, with the club winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League title the following year.

This term, Mane’s plundered 23 goals in all competitions as Klopp’s side have gleaned the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Now they aim to bring the curtain down on the campaign as kings of Europe for the seventh time in history.

But before Liverpool swooped for Mane six years ago, he’d agreed to join bitter rivals United.

However, the influence of Klopp made him scrap the proposed move to Old Trafford and instead choose the Reds.

What’s been said

Speaking to Jamie Carragher in an interview for The Telegraph, Mane said: “I have to say, I was really close to going to Manchester United. “I had the contract there. I had it all agreed. 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.”