How Bayern Munich ‘Sacked’ Sadio Mane Because He Was African

• Sadio Mane had a tough year with Bayern Munich after joining from Liverpool
• Mane completed a £34m move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr earlier this week
• His PR manager claimed Bayern's decision to sell him wasn't for football reasons

Sadio Mane's PR manager has sensationally claimed the forward's exit from Bayern Munich was not for footballing reasons but because they couldn't understand how an African star was their highest-paid player.

Mane's transfer to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr for £34 million was officially confirmed on Tuesday, bringing an end to his disappointing stint at Bayern.

The 31-year-old, now set to earn an astonishing £34 million per year (£650,000 per week), has linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo's team in the Saudi Pro League.

Al-Nassr have also made significant signings this summer, including Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic, and Alex Telles.

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Mane's transfer to Bayern Munich for £35 million last year didn't go as smoothly as expected, as he encountered difficulties in adapting to life in Germany and only managed to score 12 goals during his time at the club.

Additionally, he found himself embroiled in a well-publicized dispute with fellow teammate Leroy Sane.

Upon his move from Liverpool, it was reported that Mane was offered an annual salary exceeding €20 million (£17.3 million), positioning him among the club's highest-paid players.

Mane's high wages combined with his disappointing form meant he was heavily criticised but Bacary Cisse, Mane's PR manager, hit back at the club's treatment of him and insisted other significant factors played a part in his departure.

Cisse told After Foot RMC:

"It wasn't a footballing decision (to sell him). Sadio's salary bothered the Germans, they didn't understand how an African joins the club and becomes the top earner ahead of everyone, so they wanted to get rid of him.

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"They never called the player's representatives. They never told Sadio face-to-face that they wanted to get rid of him. They just sent (Thomas) Tuchel to tell him that he will be a third choice left winger.

"Sadio has nothing to prove to the Germans. He didn't become what he's become thanks to Bayern. It was thanks to Liverpool. Bayern were ungrateful. They were paying an African all this money, and that hurt them."

Cisse continued:

"He was professional until the end. But the people in charge at Bayern weren't fair.

"They first leaked to the media they were ready to sell him for €20m (£17.3m). But after he returned to training and they saw he was doing well, they raised the price to €30m (£25.9m).

"Sadio didn't steal his money. From the first meeting with Bayern, he gave them his word that he would join, without talking about the salary. His representatives negotiated that salary for him."

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Mane's time at Bayern

The forward initially looked to have made a fantastic start to his time at the club, scoring five goals before the end of August, and another six by the time the Bundesliga broke off for the Qatar World Cup.

But an injury just before the tournament saw Mane's involvement for the African champions written off, and would prove to be a turning point in his season.

After his return in February he scored just one more one goal in all competitions throughout the rest of the season, with Julian Nagelsmann sacked in favour of Tuchel to rescue Bayern's domestic hopes.