Bayern Munich have reportedly set a €32 million asking price on Sadio Mane amid interest from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr this summer.
Mane, 31, has been touted as a potential summer sale following his sub-par debut season at the Allianz Arena last time around. Since arriving from Anfield in a switch worth up to €41 million, he has scored only 12 goals and provided six assists in 38 games across competitions for the Bavarians.
Earlier this week, Ariadhiah reported that Al-Nassr are leading the race to snap up the 97-cap Senegal international this summer. Ronaldo’s side are thought to be on the hunt for a top-level forward right now.
According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, Mane and his agents have already sat down with Al-Nassr recently to discuss a potential move, but the player is yet to receive a concrete offer.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have slapped an initial price tag of €32 million on the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations winner. They have already told the right-footed attacker that he’s free to depart the club soon. However, the former Reds man is adamant to remain in Munich.
Earlier last week, Bavarians manager Thomas Tuchel warned Mane that he’s not an automatic starter:
“He had an unsatisfactory season and fell short of expectations. The competition is high in the position where I see him at his strongest, with Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.
“We are open and honest with each other. He is our player. … he has a contract. The starting position is not easy for him as of now. Time will soon tell us more.”
Should Mane secure a move to Ronaldo’s side this summer, he would be a crucial first-team starter, displacing Abdulrahman Ghareeb as the Saudi side’s starting left winger.
What Cristiano Ronaldo has said on Europe return?
During an interview with A Bola, Cristiano Ronaldo said that he has no intention to return to play in Europe in the future:
“I’m 100 per cent sure that I won’t return to any European club in the future. I’m 38 years old, and also European football has lost a lot of quality in few years. The only valid one and still doing good is the Premier League. They are way ahead of all the other leagues now.”
Ronaldo also showered praise on the Saudi Pro League:
“The Saudi league is better than MLS. I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here.
“In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi. In a year, the Saudi league will overtake the Turkish and the Dutch leagues in terms of quality.”
Since the start of the ongoing summer transfer window, a host of renowned players have moved to the Saudi Pro League. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jota, Ruben Neves, Sergio Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Marcelo Brozovic are some of the names.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, joined Al-Nassr on a free switch earlier this year after his contract was mutually terminated at Manchester United. The 38-year-old has registered 14 goals and two assists in 19 games for his current team.
