Mane explains why one teammate, not Salah, was his closest on the pitch | OneFootball

The layers behind one of Liverpool’s most iconic forward lines have always carried more depth than the headlines often suggested.

When Sadio Mane sat down with Rio Ferdinand Presents, his reflections offered fresh insight into how our dressing room actually functioned during those peak years under Jurgen Klopp.

While many outside Anfield may have assumed the Mane Salah relationship was the most natural link in our attack, the former Southampton winger made clear that his true footballing bond belonged elsewhere.

Mane Salah relationship shaped by Burnley moment

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The Senegal captain admitted there was real emotion after the Burnley incident in 2019, telling Ferdinand he was “really, really angry” because he felt our No.11 “should pass to me”.

That honesty strengthened rather than weakened their connection, with the Egyptian later approaching him to say he “didn’t see you to pass”.

Their understanding helped deliver the numbers that cemented Klopp’s era, but what Mane described was a professional link rather than the natural, instinctive relationship many assumed.

Why Robertson, not Salah, was Mane’s closest partner

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The 33-year-old told Ferdinand that Andy Robertson was “my best partnership in all my career”, pointing to the overlapping, intensity and shared responsibility they built on the left.

Their nine combined goals and assists underline the understanding that developed from the first week the Scotland captain arrived.

Mane even recalled telling the former Hull defender: “When I have the ball, if we play against one winger which is really tough for him, in the next day in training, we’d say: ‘Hey, help me, I help you’. It’s what he said.”

“I said: ‘Don’t worry, me, I will be here. I will be here for you. Don’t worry. We’ll catch him, we’ll put him in the pocket.'”

It’s clear that Robertson’s appeal isn’t just being the best left back the club has seen in modern memory but also being a fantastic leader and person off the pitch.

That natural link also shines through in Robertson’s own recent comments about Diogo Jota, where the left-back admitted he was “in bits” during Scotland’s World Cup push because he “couldnt get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head”.

Robertson is clearly a fierce friend and teammates, reflecting exactly the sort of character Mane praised – a person who lifts the dressing room and those around him.

Liverpool are at their best when unity defines the group, and when we look back at those trophy-winning seasons, Mane’s reflections only strengthen the picture of how important that mutual trust truly was.

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