Sadio Mane: Ex-Liverpool star explains why he rejected Man United in 2015 | OneFootball

Manchester United have been home to some of the finest footballers in the world in their illustrious history. However, the Red Devils have also missed out on several top talents over the years.

Some of them went on to make history elsewhere, and the Premier League giants were left to rue the missed opportunities.

The ones that got away

Ronaldinho was reportedly just 48 hours away from moving to the Theatre of Dreams in 2003 before joining Barcelona and achieving tremendous success at Camp Nou.

Years later in 2013, United were on the verge of signing Toni Kroos before David Moyes lost his job, and the German maestro ultimately ended up at Real Madrid.

The Red Devils reportedly attempted to sign former Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane in 2015, during his time at Southampton, but failed to get a deal across the line.

The Senegalese, who moved to Anfield a year later, recently explained in detail his reasons for turning down United.

Louis van Gaal wasn’t very convincing

Mane enjoyed tremendous success during his six seasons on the Merseyside, winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Sadio Mane Club Career Stats

Source: Transfermarkt

Speaking to ESPN, the 33 year old insisted that his decision was fueled by the desire to secure regular game time.

“Manchester United called me that time, I was talking to Van Gaal. I was talking to Van Gaal that time. Rooney was there. And Di María was there. And … and [Memphis] Depay was there. When they failed to get me, they bought [Anthony] Martial,” said Mane.

“Van Gaal called me and he said, ‘Mané, how are you? What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I want you to come to Manchester United. I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘OK. Now I’m talking to my agent. [Van Gaal said] ‘We’ll see what is the best, because I know you’re a good player and you can help the team, and we can help you also to become better players’.

“And then I said, ‘OK, so my question: you have Depay, you have Rooney, you have Di María, you have Van Persie, I think the same. ‘So where am I going to play?’ That was my question, because me, I want to play. He said, ‘I know your talent, you’re good. But if you do good training, good impression, you will play. But we have another player which is also good’.

“I was not convinced about his explanation. I talked to the coach, but he told me that I will play if I’m good; if not. But at the time, me, I was not ready, I can say. I was young. I still needed someone to help me more. And one or two more years to become what I want to be. Because I was still in Southampton; I was not consistent. And then we said, ‘OK, we’ll see’.”

The Senegalese, who currently plays for Al-Nassr, finished with 120 goals and 46 assists in 269 appearances for the Reds, but it could have been very different had Louis van Gaal been a little more persuasive.

Final Thoughts

Sadio Mane was perhaps wise not to move to United in 2015, given that the club was in turmoil. Van Gaal lost his job at the end of that season and although the Red Devils enjoyed a brief resurgence under Jose Mourinho, it ultimately proved to be a false dawn.

Fans will hope that Ruben Amorim can finally take them back to the promised land, with INEOS also having strengthened the squad over the summer.

Meanwhile, there was famously a silver lining to missing out on one of United’s top targets. When the Red Devils failed to sign Ronaldinho in 2003, they moved on to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, who went on to make history at the Theatre of Dreams.

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