Roberto Firmino has explained the Mohamed Salah versus Sadio Mane feud that became part of the “worst-kept secret in Liverpool”.
The Brazil international spent eight memorable years at Anfield before linking up with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in 2023. Much of his success on Merseyside – which included Premier League and Champions League triumphs – was enjoyed alongside fellow forwards Salah and Mane.
While the trio formed one of the most devastating attacking units in world football, they did not always see eye to eye – with one famous incident in 2019 seeing Senegalese ace Mane fume at the Liverpool bench after Salah failed to pass the ball to him for a simple tap-in.
Firmino, in his new book ‘Si Senor: My Liverpool Years’, has said of the rivalry that existed between team-mates at Anfield: “I knew those guys very well, maybe better than anyone. It was me out there on the field, right in the middle of them. I saw first-hand the looks, the grimaces, the body language, the dissatisfaction when one was mad at the other. I could feel it. I was the link between them in our attacking play and the firefighter in those moments. For many, that disagreement [against Burnley] between Sadio and Mo was the first; for some, the first and last. But I knew it had been brewing since the previous season, 2018-19. My instinct and my duty was to defuse the situation between them. Pour water on the fire – never petrol.”
Firmino added: “They were never best friends; each kept himself to himself. It was rare to see the two of them talking and I’m not sure if that had to do with the Egypt-Senegal rivalry in African competitions. I truly don’t know. But they also never stopped talking, never severed ties. They always acted with the utmost professionalism. I never took sides. That’s why they love me: I always passed the ball to both; my preference was for the team’s victory. Many focus on what I brought to the attacking trio in tactical terms, but perhaps just as important was the human element: my role as peacemaker, unifier. If I didn’t do that, it would be nothing but storms between the two of them on the field. Maybe that’s why I was the one most often substituted by Klopp. The three of us had very different personalities and the Boss knew I wouldn’t throw a bottle to the ground or anything like that. If I was bothered, I’d talk to him privately afterwards. When a substitution was needed, it was easier to take Bobby off than to upset either of the other two. Everyone, including the other players, knew that’s how it worked. It was the worst-kept secret in Liverpool – naturally, no one ever asked what I thought or how I felt. That’s just my nature; the team comes first. The boss knew it.”
Mane was the first member of a fearsome triumvirate to sever ties with Liverpool, as he joined Bayern Munich in 2022 and eventually linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr a year later, and there is plenty of speculation to suggest that Salah could be on his way in 2024 – with various reports claiming that teams in Saudi Arabia are lining up transfer bids of more than £200 million ($245m) for the Egyptian superstar.
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