Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has admitted that the Bundesliga giants were close to signing Sadio Mane before Southampton pipped the German side to the attacker.
Speaking to Bild via The Daily Mail, Rummenigge confessed that Bayern were keen on bringing Mane to the Bavarian club after the Senegalese winger impressed after signing for RB Salzburg from FC Metz, but the Saints able to pounce on the attack and brought him to the Premier League in 2014 as per BBC Sport.
Rummenigge said about Bayern missing out on Mane: “We had an interest in Mane, but somehow it didn’t work out. He then went to Southampton and later Liverpool. A shame.”
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Mane, who is now valued on Transfermarkt at £108m and was this week ranked fourth in the 2019 Ballon d’Or awards as reported by The Metro, was a sensation for Southampton after joining from the Austrian club, with stats from Transfermarkt showing that the attacker scored 25 goals and assisted another 14 in 75 appearances for the Saints in all competitions.
Liverpool, for a time, have been regular buyers from Southampton, poaching a number of their players over the years which many names still in the Reds first-team, such as the aforementioned Mane, Dejan Lovren, as well as Virgil van Dijk, who also placed in the top-five for this week’s Ballon d’Or awards.
With Bayern seemingly on the hunt for a winger, with the German side being linked with Leroy Sane for the majority of the summer before the Manchester City winger picked a long-term injury as per Bleacher Report, the five-time European champions could make a surprise move again for the former Southampton winger based on Rummenigge’s latest comments.
