Mane: Why Senegal star left Liverpool to replace Lewandowski at Bayern Munich - Salihamidzic

Sadio Mane had effectively joined Bayern Munich as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, and the Bavarians' Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic discusses why he left Liverpool.

The German heavyweights were desperate to cover the void left by Lewandowski who had been their leading striker since joining the team in 2014 from Borussia Dortmund.

"Somebody like Sadio [Mane] looks at clubs and thinks, 'I have had six amazing years at Liverpool, what's next?' He will choose his next move carefully," the 45-year-old sports administrator told the Times.

"I know why he chose us, he said so; because he feels that there's so much quality and mentality, with him being a leader in that respect who fits right in.

"It was obvious that Lewy was thinking about a move, but without having top replacements available, we wouldn’t have agreed [to let him go].

"But we had many options, we tried to make one happen, and that allowed us to let him go. The fact that it was Sadio . . . it couldn’t have worked out any better for us."

Meanwhile, former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders believes Jurgen Klopp should have replaced Mane with Tottenham Hotspur attacker Heung-min Son.

The Spurs man scored 23 goals in the 2021/22 campaign and managed to provide nine assists for his teammates.

"When [Sadio] Mane was leaving Liverpool, I thought there are only a couple of players who could replace him, and I thought Son [Heung-min] would have been the one, '' Saunders told talkSPORT.

Mane has played nine competitive matches for Bayern this season and scored nine goals in the process. On Tuesday, he is expected to feature as the Bavarians host Barcelona in the Champions League.