Sadio Mane’s manager has sensationally claimed that the striker’s departure from Bayern Munich was not for footballing reasons, but because they could not understand how an African star was their highest paid player.
The Senegalese’s €40m move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr was confirmed on Tuesday, ending the striker’s disastrous spell in the Bundesliga.
The 31-year-old – who will earn €40m a year – has joined Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Pro League side with Al-Nassr having already added the likes of Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles this summer.
“It wasn’t a footballing decision (to sell him),” he told After Foot RMC. “Sadio’s salary worried the Germans, they didn’t understand how an African enters the club and becomes the highest paid before everyone else, so they wanted to get rid of him.”
“They never called the player’s representatives. They never told Sadio face to face that they wanted to get rid of him. They just appointed (Thomas) Tuchel and signed him to tell him that he will be the third choice on the left wing.
“Sadio has nothing to prove to the Germans. He did not become what he has become thanks to Bayern. That was thanks to Liverpool. Bayern were ungrateful. They were paying an African all this money and it hurt them,” added Cisse.
The striker 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 was suspended for the World Cup in Qatar.