Sadio Mane, a Senegal forward, has signed a three-year contract with German champions Bayern Munich.
Bayern, who won a record-extending 10th straight league title last season, are said to have agreed on a fee of around 40 million euros ($42.1m) plus add-ons for the 30-year-old, who had a year left on his Liverpool contract.
Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer remarked on Wednesday, “Sadio Mane is a global star.”
“He underscores the attractiveness of Bayern and the entire Bundesliga.”
The 30-year-old leaves Anfield after 269 appearances and 120 goals in all competitions, a spectacular performance that helped the team win the Champions League in 2018-2019 and the Premier League the following season.
Mane was a standout performer for Liverpool last season, scoring 23 goals as the Reds won the domestic cup double and just missed out on the league title to Manchester City.
Sane expressed his happiness upon finally joining Bayern Munich. “We had a lot of talks and I felt the interest of this big club from the start. This is the right time for this challenge. I want to achieve a lot of things with this club, also internationally,” he said.
The top-selling daily newspaper in Germany, Bild, quoted Mane as saying, “My agent told me that there were also enquiries from other clubs, but for me, the feeling was right from the start when Bayern presented their plan with me.”
Klopp praised Mane, his first significant signing since taking over, as “world-class” and compared him to a “machine” last month, but the player, keen for a fresh challenge, snubbed a new deal.
Bayern now have a ready-made alternative for wantaway striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been linked with a transfer to Barcelona, and winger Serge Gnabry, who is delaying on a contract extension.
