Former Liverpool star Roberto Firmino has detailed Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s complicated relationship that saw Jurgen Klopp intervene.
While Firmino and Mane have since left Liverpool after departing for Saudi Arabia, Salah remained at Anfield despite a late push from Al Ittihad.
It would have seen Salah and Mane go against each as rivals for the first time rather than as teammates.
But judging from Firmino’s latest book, they have been rivals for a long time.
One excerpt details the tension that would mount between the two, particularly one infamous moment after Liverpool beat Burnley 3-0 but Mane was left fuming when Salah refused to pass to him for an open goal.
Writing in his book, Si Senor: My Liverpool Years, Firmino wrote: “Tense moments usually passed quickly. In the next game, one would be passing the ball to the other – or passing it to me, who would then pass it to the other – and we’d be celebrating another goal for our team.
“Together. Salah and Mane had had their little problems before, but that time everything happened on the field, there for the world to see. That day, at Burnley, the lid came off.
“Their argument wasn’t funny. Potentially, it could have caused problems for us. Maybe the Boss [Jurgen Klopp] and some others were worried.”
Liverpool’s front three of Salah, Mane and Firmino were among the most feared forwards in Europe in 2019.
But it became clear that defenders were not their biggest problem but rather themselves, so Klopp moved to try fix the relationship by giving a speech on selfishness – that looked like an indirect poke at Salah.
Firmino added: “They were never best friends; each kept himself to himself. It was rare to see the two of them talking and I’m not sure if that had to do with the Egypt–Senegal rivalry in African competitions.
“I truly don’t know. But they also never stopped talking, never severed ties. They always acted with the utmost professionalism.
“I don’t know if he was aware of it or not, but Salah used to frustrate everyone when he didn’t pass the ball. I knew how to handle that situation better than most.
“Klopp addressed this issue in front of all of us: when a teammate was in a better position, the ball had to be passed. It was a clear hint aimed at Salah.
“Over the years, I must say, this aspect of his game improved significantly.
“He gradually learned to be less selfish and more cooperative – notwithstanding the fact that he is a striker, a goal scorer, and every goal scorer tends to be a bit ‘greedy’ in the pursuit of a goal. That’s normal.”
Mane left Liverpool in 2022 for Bayern Munich while Firmino packed his bags in the summer after his contract expired.
But their era at Anfield will never be forgotten, scoring a whopping 338 goals since becoming a trio during the 2017/18 season, winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup along the way.
