Sadio Mane Says He And Mo Salah Have "Good Relations" And Were Never Rivals At Liverpool

Sadio Mane won the 2022 African Footballer of the Year award on Thursday ahead of former Liverpool teammate Mo Salah, who came second in the vote.

Despite both playing for Liverpool last season, Mane and Salah went head to head multiple times in 2022.

Mane came out on top in those crucial duels... but only just.

His Senegal side beat Egypt on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations and then prevailed in another spot-kick shootout to qualify for the FIFA World Cup at the expense of Salah and Co.

As Africa's two top soccer stars, Mane and Salah have often been compared to one another, even a rivalry has been rumored.

But Mane has insisted that he has never considered Salah to be a rival and that he and his ex-teammate have "good relations".

Mo Salah (left) and Sadio Mane pictured with the FA Cup trophy after Liverpool's victory over Chelsea in the 2022 final at Wembley

IMAGO/Paul Marriott

Speaking before he collected Africa's top individual award for the second time in his career, Mane told GOAL: "People sometimes say there's a rivalry between me and [Salah], but you know I don’t see myself having a rivalry with any player to be honest.

"We have good relations, we text each other. I think the media always try to [aggravate] things."

Rumors of tension between Mane and Salah were first hinted at by the British press in 2019 after a game between Burnley and Liverpool.

Liverpool won the match 3-0 but Mane was visibly furious with Salah after he opted to shoot rather than pass to him.

But overall, Mane and Salah enjoyed brilliant chemistry on the field as together they fired Liverpool to glory in the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, Premier League, EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Their trophy-laden partnership ended this summer when Mane left Liverpool to join Bayern Munich.

He may no longer have Salah on his side but Mane has assured Bayern fans that he will quickly build similarly strong bonds with his new teammates.

Mane added: "You know I don't just have [relationships] with one player, but with every player I've played with in the world.

"You can ask whoever you want in the club, or wherever I go. I have good relationships with all players."