Mane to Al Nassr: Where did it go wrong at Bayern Munich?

A little over a year ago, Sadio Mane arrived at Bayern Munich to great fanfare.

A Premier League and Champions League winner with Liverpool and one of Africa's most famous players, Mane was a coup for the Bundesliga. 

And at €32 million ($33.6 million), he was Julian Nagelsmann's marquee summer signing of 2022 as Bayern embarked on the post-Robert Lewandowski era. 

A year on and the landscape has shifted dramatically. Nagelsmann has been replaced by Thomas Tuchel and Mane's time in Munich has ended prematurely.

The Senegal star is set to become the latest player to jump on the Saudi Pro League bandwagon, agreeing to join Al Nassr in a move that will see him line up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It hurts me to say goodbye to FC Bayern," Mane told Sky Germany this week, effectively confirming his move, although an official announcement has not yet been made.

"I would have liked a different ending. I know I could have helped the team this season and I wanted to prove that to everyone. Nevertheless, I wish the club and the fans only the best for the future."

So, where did it all go wrong?

Why did Bayern sell Mane?

Mane's one season in Bavaria can be divided into two: before and after the World Cup.

Things started well but he suffered a devastating injury blow a week before the tournament in Qatar, in Bayern's final game before the tournament. When he finally returned in February of this year, he was a shadow of the player that Bayern had signed.

He scored 12 goals in 23 Bayern games between July and November but managed only three in 15 games between February and May. His assists were down too and he struggled to force himself into Tuchel's plans after Bayern made the shock decision to fire Nagelsmann in March.

Al Nassr's successful bid for Mane is a reported €30 million plus add-ons, which allows Bayern to cut their losses and grease the wheels in their pursuit of Harry Kane, the Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain who Bayern have identified as their long-term successor to Lewandowski.

With Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy demanding at least €100million for their homegrown star and England captain, Mane's sale is crucial in allowing all parties to move on.

'He fell short of expectations'

Signed to be one of the most advanced players in Nagelsmann's fluid, high-pressing system, Mane was the face of a new tactical approach. Without Lewandowski, the idea was that Bayern would have an interchangeable front three that would share the load in front of goal.

"Sadio Mane fits perfectly with the football that FC Bayern play under Julian Nagelsmann," Salihamidzic was quoted as saying at the start of last season.

But post-injury, Mane found himself out in the cold under the new management — and he was never able to make himself first choice under Tuchel.

"He fell short of expecations," Tuchel told German broadcaster Sport1 at the beginning of Bayern's pre-season tour. "The competitive situation is extremely high, a starting position is not easy for him. The player knows that too, he knows my opinion and the opinion of the club."

Sane bust-up the beginning of the end

It wasn't just on the field that Mane struggled to hit the right note. Mane was involved in an infamous altercation with Leroy Sane, with whom Mane had confronted as they left the field at the end of Bayern's 3-0 Champions League defeat at Manchester City in April.

The altercation continued in the locker room, where Mane allegedly punched Sane in the face, leaving him with a bloodied lip after teammates separated them. Although Mane later described it as a "small problem" Bayern fined him €300,000 for his actions and handed him a one-game suspension.

"This kind of thing can happen. It happened. We were able to solve this small problem," Mane said about the incident later.

"Sometimes it's good to solve problems, but maybe not in this way. It's behind us now. We'll try to fight together to help the club achieve its goals next season," he said.

But there will be no next season for Mane at Bayern. That incident was the beginning of the end for him and, combined with his long injury, loss of form and the change of coach, Mane's short and unhappy spell in Bavaria was already drawing to a close.

Players are pawns in Saudi powerplay

At 31, and having won everything his heart desires in Europe, Mane is now looking East for his next move.

The chance of teaming up with Ronaldo at Al Nassr and becoming a headline act in a league that is throwing serious money at some big names has proved too tempting to resist.

Since signing Ronaldo in December 2022, Al Nassr have been at the forefront of the big-spending among a select group of Saudi Pro League clubs. They splashed €25 million on Seko Fofana from Lens, €18 million on Champions League finalist Marcelo Brozovic from Inter and €7 million on Alex Telles from Manchester United.

With reports that Al Hilal have offered a mind-blowing sum to bring France star Kylian Mbappe to the league — a reported world record €300 million — Mane is unlikely to be the latest star name to join the world's fastest growing league.

Ronaldo, whose annual salary is a rumored €192 million, has been hyping up the league's potential. "In a year, more and more top players will come to Saudi... it will overtake the Turkish and Dutch leagues." 

First golf, now football

Al Nassr and Al Hilal, along with Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, who signed Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, were taken over by the state's Public Investment Fund in June so that a 'top four' can be engineered to drive broadcasting revenues. These clubs are allowed to sign three top players each while the other 12 that make up the Saudi Pro League have to settle for one each.

Mane's acquistion is another sign that Saudi Arabia's aggressive recruitment drive is part of a wider strategy not only in football but in sports as a whole.

Saudi Arabia have been involved in the sponsorship and hosting of boxing, Formula 1, cricket and other events as part of its 'Vision 2030' program, which aims to shift the country's reliance on depleting oil reserves towards a more tourism and entertainment based economy to appeal to its youthful demographic.

The merger between LIV and PGA set a template for how an entire sport — golf is considerably more centralized than football — can be co-opted and taken over.

Mane's move to Al Nassr is another sign that Saudi Arabia isn't stopping any time soon.

Edited by Matt Ford