Sadio Mane Explains What Really Happened After Infamous Mo Salah Touchline Row

Sadio Mane has opened up on how his relationship with former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah changed after what happened during that infamous incident in a clash against Burnley.

They will go down in Premier League history as one of the best attacking duos of the modern era.

Mane and Salah recorded 22 goal combinations across a hugely successful five-year period at Liverpool, and it remains one of the strongest parnerships since the start of the 1992-93 season.

The pair would also play a key role in the club winning four major trophies under Jurgen Klopp, including their 19th top-flight title in 2019-20.

But their relationship was far from straightforward. Earlier this year, in an interview with L'Equipe, Salah admitted there was "tension" between himself and the Senegalese forward as they battled for goals.

"But look, we remained professional until the end, and I don’t think it affected the team," he added. “Off the pitch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other."

Salah and Mane were prolific on the pitch together. Image credit: Getty

Now, Mane has opened up on his unique relationship with Salah, as well as the infamous Burnley bust-up, which saw him fume on the subs bench after Salah decided to shoot rather than make a simple pass to his feet.

"I was really, really angry after the game [against Burnley]," Mane told on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. "And the next day, he came to me. He wants to talk to me, but he doesn’t know when, how to say. He still thinks I'm angry with him because we didn't see each other, we went home.

"The next day, he came to me. He said: 'Can we talk?' and I said: 'Okay, no problem, we go.' And he said: 'You think I didn't want to pass you? I didn’t score, Bobby scored. But even when I got the ball, I was not thinking or even seeing you to pass. I just got the ball, I want to shoot. But I have nothing against you and honestly, if I could pass you and I saw you, I will do.”

Mane continued: "And this, you know… I said, 'No, don't worry. It passed, it passed. I was angry because I think you could pass me more with your quality.'"

Despite the bust-up, Mane says the incident helped strengthen their relationship.

"I think since that day, we have become even closer," he added. "And sometimes it happens, but we just… as a striker, usually when you see the ball, you don’t see nobody. So for me, he didn't do it personally.

"He just wants to score, score, score. And then I was talking: 'Mo, I can see you want to be more… I can help you a lot because I know you want to be top scorer.

"You want… I'm here. I can help you because I don't have this problem. Me, I'll help you more.”

Sadio Mane didn't hesitate when naming the best partnership of his career

Mane snubbed Salah and Roberto Firmino when discussing the best partnership of his career, Instead, he chose former Liverpool teammate and Scotland international Andy Robertson.

"People usually talk about front three—me, Bobby, Mo - but if you see [Andy] Robertson, you see the overlapping and this desire to win every single ball. It's just amazing," he said.

"Me and Robbo, I think it was… my best partnership in all my career because we know each other. I think it's just natural. Since he came, I think it just became natural. I helped him, he helped me.

"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.' So anytime… it was teamwork."

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