Rio Ferdinand Includes Bayern Munich Signing Sadio Mane in Top 5 African Players in Premier League History

• Rio Ferdinand ranks Sadio Mane among the top 5 African players to play in the Premier League
• Mane is among the few Premier League legends who have scored more than 100 goals in English top-flight
• The Senegalese was recently unveiled as a Bayern Munich player in a three-year deal

Sadio Mane is among the top five best African players to grace the Premier League, according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

Liverpool are set to receive £27.4m upfront from Bayern Munich, who managed to acquire the services of Senegal forward on a deal that runs until 2025.

This came after the Merseyside club initially turned down two bids for Mane.

Mane leaves Liverpool a modern-day legend, having spent six successful years at the club.

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In his 269 appearances in a Liverpool shirt, Mane managed to score an impressive 120 goals, and was part of an iconic front three comprising Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

Amid a sea of reactions on social media after Mane’s Bayern Munich exit, Ferdinand took to social media to name the five players from Africa he believes made a considerable mark in English top flight.

Among them was Sadio Mane.

"I'm going..." Ferdinand teased. "In no particular order; [Didier] Drogba, Salah, Mane, Yaya Toure, [Michael] Essien." The former England captain then added: "Raaaaaa this is hard yenoooo. [Riyad] Mahrez won some trophies. I loved Jay-Jay [Okocha] also… mad player."

It is just as well Ferdinand named Drogba in his all-time list as the Ivory Coast international was a force for Chelsea, scoring 104 times in 259 games for the Blues.

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Meanwhile, Bayern Munich as a club is excited by the arrival of Mane to Germany.

In a photo posted on Twitter, the AFCON winner's name was lighted brightly around the iconic Allianz Arena stadium in Germany to welcome the forward.

Why Bayern?

As far as his reasons for joining Bayern are concerned, Mane disclosed he immediately saw himself playing for Bayern Munich immediately his agent told him of the Bavarians’ interest in signing him this summer.

'When my agent first told me about Bayern's interest, I was immediately excited. I saw myself there right away... It's one of the biggest clubs in the world and the team is always fighting for every title.

"So for me, it was a very good idea and the right decision to come here."