Sadio Mané has just left Liverpool to sign for Bayern Munich. The Senegalese star signed a three-year contract after Bayern paid a measly €32 million. To put this astonishingly low figure into perspective, the general consensus on a reasonable transfer value for Mané had been €70 million at a bare minimum. Even €100 million would not have been deemed an exorbitant price to part the forward from Anfield.
To make matters worse, Liverpool had just signed Darwin Núñez for €75 million. Almost everyone agrees that while Núñez certainly has the potential to emerge as a top-tier striker, that transfer fee will almost certainly turn out to be a massive overpay. Although the 22-year-old Uruguayan is fresh off a breakout season at Benfica in which he scored 26 goals in the Primeira Liga, the fact remains that he has not proven that he can continue playing at this level in a major European league for an elite club like Liverpool.
Liverpool have not made many mistakes in the transfer market in recent years; almost all their signings have been impactful and good value for money, while most of their departures were expendable and for reasonable prices. However, this cannot be said of the Mané transfer to Bayern at all. The Reds did not make much of an attempt to drive the transfer fee up to a justifiable point. Mané is too great a player and has done too much for Liverpool during his six-year stint in Merseyside for a fee of €32 million to be acceptable. Yet for whatever reason, Liverpool let Bayern get away with essentially blatant highway robbery.
There is much speculation that Mané personally pushed for this transfer in order to be seen as "The Man" instead of Mohamed Salah's "sidekick". This perception is unfortunate, given the fact that many would argue that Mané is every bit as good a player as is Salah. Thus, it would be perfectly understandable if it turned out that Mané forced Liverpool's hand in this matter.
The reality is that from what has been publicly revealed thus far, Mané's departure from Liverpool is still shrouded in mystery. There was almost no buzz surrounding the move until literally days before it actually happened. Do not be surprised if more information comes to light over the next few weeks.
As for Bayern, the arrival of Mané at the Allianz Arena is exactly what they needed. With the likely departure of club legend Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, there will be a void to be filled up front. Mané is exactly the player that Bayern need to fill the impending chasm to be left behind. He will ensure that Bayern won't miss a beat if Lewandowski were, as expected, to leave Bavaria.
Incredibly, this is already Bayern's second signing in this off-season for which they have paid an amount far below the player's expected market value. They had already signed Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax for €18.5 million. At just 20, Gravenberch is a rising star who many believe will go on to become one of the world's best midfielders once he reaches his prime. Of course, Bayern's acquisition of Mané is of a completely different magnitude. For the time being at least, it makes Die Roten the team to beat in next season's Champions League.
From a tactical perspective, Mané's arrival grants Bayern even more flexibility up front. Although Bayern would lack a true centre-forward if Lewandowski were to leave, they have multiple viable "false nine" options including Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, and now Mané. For this reason, with or without Lewandowski, Bayern have the best attacking line-up in world football.
If I'd told you a few weeks ago that a €32 million transfer would have a colossal impact on the upcoming season, you probably wouldn't have believed me. Yet, here we are now - Bayern have pulled off an almost inconceivable transfer heist, making them the early favourites to win the Champions League.
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