Al-Nassr’s newest signing, Sadio Mane, has spoken about how Roberto Firmino tried to convince him to make the move to the Al-Ahli.
Firmino, who joined the Saudi club this summer after being released from Liverpool, had tried to convince Mane to make the move to Al-Ahli, with the Brazilian forward wanting to reignite the partnership that the pair had during their days at Anfield.
According to Ben Jacobs, Mane has spoken about how the forward tried to convince him to reject Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
“I spoke with Firmino and I think he wanted me to come to the wrong club… I’m joking,” the Senegalese winger said. “He called two or three times to convince me to come to Al-Ahli.
As well as this, Fabinho, another former teammate of Mane’s, had reportedly also been trying to convince the former Southampton winger to make the move to Al-Ittihad but Mane chose Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
“At the same time I spoke with Fabinho because he was quite close to me,” Mane revealed. “He also wanted me to come to Al-Ittihad, but I chose Al-Nassr.”
Henderson wishes Mane good luck
Another revelation from Mane is that Jordan Henderson, who joined Al-Ettifaq after also being allowed to leave Liverpool, has wished his former teammate good luck.
“Of course, Henderson is also here, and he sent me a message two days ago to wish me good luck and I’m excited to meet all these great guys and also to meet them face to face for the first time.”
Mane has already seemingly struck up a bond with Ronaldo, who kick-started the flurry of some of Europe’s top players making the move to Saudi Arabia.
Mane, alongside Ronaldo, will be hoping to wrestle the title away from his former Liverpool teammates at Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli. With all these former Premier League players in the Saudi Pro League, it promises to be an exciting season.