Liverpool midfielder, Fabinho has revealed how he pleaded with Senegalese striker, Sadio Mane not to leave but the striker had already made up his mind to move on.
The striker moved to Bayern Munich on a $35million deal after spending six years at Liverpool where he won the Champions League and Premier League titles.
Fabinho admitted that he made attempts to make Mane stay longer and that he did his best.
“At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave.
“I was always saying to him, ‘Come on Sadio, stay here. You can win the Premier League and the Champions League right here, don’t leave’. But I think he had already made his mind up. We had to respect that, Fabinho told Athletic.
“Sadio had a really good story in a Liverpool shirt. He played for six years here and during that time he won everything you can win and he decided that he wanted a new challenge. That’s OK.
“After the parade in Liverpool, everyone said goodbye to him. We knew there was a good chance he would be leaving. I always kept some hope that he would still stay but then it was all confirmed.
“Losing Sadio is a big loss. He was one of our best players but it’s something that we can’t change. We have to deal with it. Now other players have to step up and take on greater responsibility.”
