Sadio Mane facing summer transfer switch; Real Madrid hero desperate to play with him | OneFootball

Former Liverpool fan favourite Sadio Mane could be set for a summer switch within the Saudi Pro League.

That’s the update coming from CaughtOffside columnist Ben Jacobs on X (formerly Twitter).

The former CBS journalist reported that Al-Ittihad are now ‘pushing’ to land the Senegalese international. Furthermore, it’s understood that Karim Benzema is particularly keen to see the deal completed, as he believes the former Red can help Nadi Al-Sha’ab challenge for the title.

Follow Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE

The 32-year-old registered 30 goal contributions in 46 games (across all competitions) for the Saudi outfit in 2023/24.

READ MORE: Unseen AXA training centre change happened this summer; four Liverpool players taking advantage

READ MORE: Real Sociedad president drops definitive Zubimendi transfer update after fresh exit suggestions

We’d love to see Mane return to Europe

Sadio Mane and former Real Madrid man Cristiano Ronaldo – (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

With the greatest of respect to the footballing operation in the Middle East, we can’t help but feel that talents like Mane are being utterly wasted.

We can, of course, understand the aforementioned Real Madrid legend’s desire to see our former No.10 added to the project at Ittihad. It already boasts an impressive array of top European stars, including Houseem Aouar, N’Golo Kante, Jota, and Moussa Diaby.

Further to that point, it’s worth highlighting that the footballer gets to work with one of the greatest talents to grace the game in Cristiano Ronaldo. And that’s among Al-Nassr’s assortment of elite sportsmen.

Nonetheless, we’re still confident that the ex-Bayern man could be spending some of his best years in the sport at an elite European outfit playing on the biggest stages in club football.

It’s a choice freely made by Mane, of course, and one that has no doubt proven lucrative for himself and his family.

EOTK Close-up with John Welsh: ‘a local lad who lived his dream’ and Slot’s LFC predictions