Germany’s record national player Lothar Matthäus is convinced that FC Bayern will part ways with Sadio Mané during the summer break. The Senegalese only moved to Munich last year as a “king transfer”.
“Bayern will let him go. I think that the cooperation between Bayern Munich and Sadio Mané will come to an end after the last matchday on Saturday,” said Lothar Matthäus in an interview with the television channel “Super Sport Blitz”.
The 1990 world champion argued that Mané failed to impress in his debut season and failed to live up to high expectations. “In the last game (1:3 against RB Leipzig, editor’s note) he was the last substitute, young players came on the pitch before him and I think that working with Bayern was maybe a mistake.”
At the same time, Matthäus emphasized that FC Bayern had “made a lot of mistakes in the last twelve months”. The injury before the World Cup made things more difficult for Mané. The 31-year-old had contracted an inflammation in the fibula head, which had put him out of action for several months. In the second half of the season he was never able to build on his old form.
Matthew on Mané: “Never played like in Liverpool”
“All of these things didn’t make him or Bayern Munich happy,” Matthäus explained: “He never played like he did two years ago in Liverpool. That was a mané that made me happy.” The attacker’s age also plays a role, emphasized the 62-year-old: “After 12, 13, 14 years as a professional and this injury, he can no longer play like he used to.”
Matthäus is “sure” that Mané will definitely play a good role at another club in the future, just not at Bayern, where his contract is valid until 2025. According to the TV expert, his squad place should be taken by a younger player.
With one game to go, Sadio Mané made 25 appearances in his first Bundesliga season, scoring seven goals and providing five assists.