‘Nowhere near a challenge’ – Mane will ‘ruin the best two years of his career’ at Bayern says ex-Liverpool star Saunders
FORMER Liverpool striker Dean Saunders reckons Sadio Mane will "ruin the best two years" of his footballing career at Bayern Munich.
The Reds have accepted a £35million bid for the Senegalese ace after he made the decision to quit the club this summer.
But Saunders, 57, doesn't believe a switch to the Bundesliga will be enough of a "challenge" for 30-year-old Mane.
Bayern have won the German top-flight title for the last TEN seasons.
And Saunders said on : "Nothing against the club, it’s a great club, but the league is nowhere near a challenge for Mane.
"He’ll get goals. They win 5-0 every week, only one team can win the league.
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"It’s not a challenge. He will get in his armchair, light a cigar up, he’ll play for Bayern in third gear and he’ll coast for two years and ruin the best two years of his life as a footballer.
"At the end of his career, if he said to you ‘come and look at my trophy cabinet’, the German league winners medal will be right at the back."
At Anfield Mane has won six trophies, including the Champions League and Premier League, and Saunders doesn't understand why the forward would want to leave.
Liverpool won a domestic cup double in the most recent campaign, falling just short of winning an unprecedented quadruple.
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Saunders continued: "I can’t believe he’s leaving Liverpool, I don’t know how it’s got to this point.
"He’s 30, I think of all his time at the club, the last six months he’s played the best football, he’s been unstoppable at times."
Luis Diaz's arrival in January saw Mane switch from playing on the left to being Jurgen Klopp's main striker, a move that saw him score eight goals in 14 Prem games after he returned from winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
Saunders concluded: "He went up the middle when Diaz signed and he started getting better and better at finding the pockets and linking the play up.
"I can’t get my head round why you’d want to leave Liverpool right now, when you’re playing the best football of your life in the best combination front-three he’ll ever play in, to go and play for Bayern Munich."