The Champions League

FEATURE | How Bayern Munich signed Sadio Mané

Bayern Munich announced the signing of 30-year-old Senegalese forward Sadio Mané from Liverpool on Wednesday on a three-year contract. The Bundesliga side announced the deal for a reported €41m including bonuses.

How did Bayern Munich pull off the signing?

Florian Plettenberg tweeted of Bayern’s interest in Mané on May 9. From the get-go, the Sky Germany journalist has called the transfer correctly minute-by-minute, despite others suggesting that there was no such interest from the Bundesliga champions.

A meeting between Bayern Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidžić and Mané’s agent, Björn Bezemer, took place but to discuss the contract situation of Serge Gnabry. During said meeting, Mané’s name was mentioned and that the Senegal forward could be available this summer.

Speaking to Sport Bild prior to Mané’s signing, Salihamidžić said: “Marco Neppe and I sat together with Björn Bezemer and Daniel Delonga. Their ROOF agency represents Serge Gnabry, and it’s no secret we were in talks because we want to extend Serge’s contract.

“That was when the name of Sadio Mané was mentioned for the first time, as he’s also represented by Björn. During the talks, I thought to myself: “Something is possible.” As Björn was leaving, I asked him how big the chances really were.

“When I heard that Mané rejected all of Liverpool’s attempts to extend his contract, I was immediately interested. Two days later, Julian Nagelsmann, Marco and I were on a plane to Liverpool. For me it was immediately clear, if there was really a chance to sign Sadio, I was ready to work on it day and night.”

Salihamidžić stated that he met Mané at his home, and was greeted with him holding a mango. One topic of the discussion was Mané’s time at RB Salzburg. That meeting lasted around four hours, Salihamidžić told Mané that everyone at Bayern Munich is convinced of the job that he would do at the club.

Bayern’s technical director, Neppe, put together a presentation showing the tactical identity of Bayern and how Mané would fit in Bayern’s concept.

Surprisingly, Bayern’s negotiations with Liverpool were easier than imagined: “During their six years there, Sadio and his agent have always been fair to the club. Therefore the people in charge at Liverpool were willing to complete a deal,” added Salihamidžić.

Negotiations between Salihamidžić and his LFC counterpart Julian Ward was always respectful.

On June 10, Plettenberg reported that Nagelsmann had a positive phone call with Mané, who made it clear that he wants to join Bayern. Three days later, negotiations continued with Bayern expecting to reach an agreement.

Bayern’s opening bid of €25m was rejected, with the Bundesliga side expecting to improve on their offer. On June 17, Plettenberg reported that an agreement had been reached and that Mané would indeed, be playing for Bayern Munich in 2022/23.

On June 21, Mané landed in Munich and completed a medical. On Wednesday, Mané signed a three-year contract until 2025 and was officially announced as a Bayern Munich player.

Daniel Pinder

GGFN



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