Jurgen Klopp told he lost Sadio Mane because of controversial AFCON comments in December

• Trevor Sinclair claims Sadio Mane’s exit from Liverpool was largely because of Jurgen Klopp
• The former Man City man believes Klopp’s controversial comments about the Africa Cup of Nations led to Mane’s exit
• In December 2021, the Liverpool boss made comments perceived as disparaging about the tournament

Trevor Sinclair has come up with an interesting theory on why Sadio Mane decided to leave Liverpool for Bayern Munich.

Sinclair believes Mane’s decision to leave Anfield was largely motivated by sentiments made by Jurgen Klopp regarding the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mane was unavailable for Liverpool at the start of the year as he took part in the spectacle where he represented Senegal.

Senegal went on to have an amazing run, eventually winning the tournament at the expense of Egypt in the final.

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Prior to the tournament, Klopp courted controversy after he made some ironic remarks, referring to AFCON as “that little tournament”.

The disparaging comments did not sit well with a number of people, including Senegal boss Aliou Cisse, who openly called out Klopp for his choice of words.

“I respect Liverpool but not Klopp who undermines African football events. He is where he is today because of African footballers." Cisse said at the time, as quoted by Sportbible.

Sinclair’s take

While making an appearance on TalkSport, Sinclair, a former Man City and QPR star, said Mane was a man of principles and because of this, there would be no coming back from Klopp’s sentiments in December 2021.

"I think the main thing is that Jurgen Klopp lost him when he came out and belittled the AFCON tournament which his manager (for Senegal) Aliou Cisse had to come out and defend the AFCON and said 'you were coming second until our African players started playing for you'," Sinclair said.

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"Mane is a man of principles, you’ve seen him buy hospitals, buy schools and all the rest of it in his home town of Senegal and it’s for these reasons I feel Sadio Mane’s thought, you know what, I’m going, I’m leaving the club." He added.

Mane among the highest-paid Africans after Bayern move

Meanwhile, Sports Brief reported of how Mane’s wages shot up after his move to Bayern Munich.

As per Spotrac, Mane was on a £100,000-a-week wage at Liverpool, which made him the joint 12th best-paid player at the club.

His new deal with Bayern will see him bring in a whopping £ 250,000 per week, which is more than double what he was getting at Liverpool.