Mane recalls choosing Liverpool over Manchester United, hoping to get more playing time

Forward Sadio Mane, who played for Liverpool at the time, said that a year before he signed for Liverpool, he rejected a transfer invitation from Manchester United because he did not believe that then Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal would let him get the chance to play ahead of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Angel Di Maria.

The Senegalese forward Mane revealed the news on Rio Ferdinand Presents' video podcast program. As early as the summer of 2015, when Mane was still playing for Southampton, he had talks with the then Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal.

Mane eventually turned down Manchester United and moved to Liverpool for a transfer fee of £36 million 12 months later, where he enjoyed success in the Champions League and Premier League with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool team.

But the 33-year-old Senegalese player is now playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Professional League team Riyadh Victory (Nasser). Mane said that when Van Gaal tried to persuade him to transfer to Manchester United, he was not ready to move to Manchester United.

"Manchester United called me that time," Mane said. "I was talking to Van Gaal. "I spoke to Van Gaal at that time. Rooney is there. Di Maria is there. And...Depay is there too. "Manchester United bought Anthony Martial when they ended up not negotiating a transfer to sign me. "Van Gaal called me at the time and he said, 'Mane, how are you? What are you doing? ’ He said, ‘I want you to come to Manchester United. "I said, 'Really?' and he said, 'Yeah. I said, OK. Now I'm talking to my agent. 'We'll see what's best because I know you're a good player and you can help the team and we can help you become a better player.' "And I said, 'Well, my question is: you've got Depay, you've got Rooney, you've got Angel Di Maria, you've got Robin van Persie, too, I think. So where do I go and there's still a ball to play? ’ That’s my problem because I want to get regular playing time.’ “Van Gaal said, ‘I know you’re talented, you’re good. But if you train well and make a good impression you will get game time, but we had another player who was equally good. "I didn't believe his explanation at the time. I talked to the head coach, but he told me that if I performed well I would get game time, and what if I didn't perform well..."But at that time I could say that I wasn't ready. I was still young. I still needed people to help me. It would be another year or two before I could be where I wanted to be." "Because I was playing for Southampton at the time and I wasn't very consistent on the pitch, and we said, 'Okay, we'll see.'

In the same summer, Mane also held transfer talks with Tottenham Hotspur, saying that he would prefer playing under Mauricio Pochettino at the time rather than moving to Manchester United. "I was still in talks with Tottenham Hotspur. At the same time, Pochettino called him (my agent) and he said, 'I want Mane to come to the Tottenham Hotspur training ground.'" "A week later, I went to Tottenham Hotspur's training ground. I saw the facilities there, I met the manager, I talked to Pochettino and I was more confident in Tottenham's plan than Manchester United. Because Manchester United has too many main players... The problem is that there are too many big-name players."