Jurgen Klopp claims he was unsure about Sadio Mane during his “first encounter” with the Liverpool forward but he’s revealed how his perception soon changed.
Mane has scored 77 goals in 161 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, including 18 so far this season, and has been one of the main contributors to Liverpool’s recent success under Klopp.
Klopp was on a lookout for a winger during his days as Dortmund boss and met Mane, who was doing well for RB Leipzig, but Klopp wasn’t convinced.
Speaking on Made In Senegal, a documentary about Mane, he said: “I remember my first encounter with Sadio Mane. It was in Dortmund.
“There was a really young guy sitting there. His baseball cap was askew, the blond streak he still has today. “He looked like a rapper just starting out. I thought, ‘I don’t have time for this’.
Our team back then really wasn’t bad. I needed someone who could handle not being a starter at the very beginning, someone I could develop.
“I’d say I have a pretty good feeling for people, but was I wrong! I followed his further career and continued success at Salzburg. In Southampton he just dominated.”
- Football 365