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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Sadio Mane is leaving Liverpool after the Reds reached a £35.1m agreement with Bayern Munich for the forwarder.
Liverpool has agreed to a structured deal for Mane which includes a guaranteed £27.5million, with £5million based on appearances and a further £2.6m on individual and team accolades.
The Senegalese leave Anfield having scored 120 goals in 269 appearances for the club, where he had one year remaining on his contract.
Mane won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup with the Reds, while he was also in the sides that lost Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022.
Having joined from Southampton for £34million in 2016, the forward became one of the key pillars of Jurgen Klopp’s side, forming a deadly attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah after the latter joined in 2017.
They had earlier rejected two bids from the German giants based on the nature of the bonus clauses, but a breakthrough in talks was achieved after a Bayern delegation flew to Merseyside on Friday.
Liverpool, meanwhile, wrapped up the signing of Benfica forward Darwin Nunez for an initial £64million earlier this week. The fee for the Uruguayan could eventually reach £85million and become a club record due to the nature of the add-ons.
Young attacker Fabio Carvalho has also arrived from Fulham, while a deal has been agreed for Scottish teenage right-back Calvin Ramsay.
Having opted against negotiating for a contract extension, Mane made it clear to Liverpool that he wished to leave the club to pursue a new challenge after last month’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
Bayern were quickly alerted to his desire to move on, and made an approach amidst uncertainty surrounding their own star forward Robert Lewandowski.
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic headed the delegation that arrived on Merseyside on Friday to hold talks with his Liverpool counterpart Julian Ward, where an agreement was struck.
FURTHER READING
Mane is now set to head to Munich to put pen to paper on a three-year deal, which could earn him a reported salary of around £360,000 a week.
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