Liverpool were dealt with a big blow, as their star forward Sadio Mane decided to leave the club after six successful seasons with the Reds. Brazilian midfielder Fabinho revealed as to how he tried to persuade Sadio Mane to change his mind, and instead continue his journey with Liverpool.

Fabinho asked his teammate to not leave, and insisted that he could win the Premier League and Champions League once again with Liverpool. The Reds finished as the runners-up to Real Madrid in the UCL 2021/22 season, after a disappointing 1-0 loss. However, the Brazilian believes that Mane had already made his mind up to leave the club.

“At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave,” Fabinho told the Athletic.

“I was always saying to him, ‘Come on Sadio, stay here. You can win the Premier League and the Champions League right here, don’t leave’. But I think he had already made up his mind. We had to respect that,” he added.

Sadio Mane achieved a lot of success during his six-year stay at Liverpool, winning almost every title on offer. Hence, Fabinho understands the Senagelese’s decision to seek a new adventure.

“He played for six years here and during that time he won everything you can win and he decided that he wanted a new challenge. That’s OK,” Fabinho added.

Fabinho added that Sadio Mane will certainly be a big miss at Liverpool, but the club has to move on and accept the fact. The Reds signed another exciting forward in the form of Darwin Nunez to at least fill in a part of the void left by Sadio Mane.