Al Ahli ‘pushing’ to recreate iconic Liverpool partnership after signing Roberto Firmino on three-year contract
Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane train for Liverpool
Roberto Firmino is not the only Liverpool hero who might join Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli this summer as they are also hoping to land one of his former Anfield team-mates, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Firmino recently left Liverpool on a free transfer after deciding not to renew his contract with the Reds. The forward had become frustrated with his lack of game time and opted to leave so he could play more regularly.
Firmino was expected to remain in Europe as major clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Inter Milan were linked with moves for him. But on June 30, it emerged there was a ‘full agreement’ in place for him to join Al Ahli, who gained promotion to the Saudi Pro League last season.
And Al Ahli announced the signing on Wednesday morning. Firmino has penned a three-year deal with them and will play alongside goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who recently swapped Chelsea for Al Ahli.
Firmino and Mendy will come up against well-known stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Marcelo Brozovic and Ruben Neves next term.
And Al Ahli want to take another former Premier League ace to the Middle East. Writing on Twitter, Romano has revealed they are among several Saudi teams ‘pushing’ for Bayern Munich attacker Sadio Mane.
Al Ahli in particular have been ‘insisting’ in the last few days that Mane joins them as they want to reunite him with Firmino.
Al Ahli will now wait to see what Mane decides to do. He has previously signalled his desire to stay at Bayern, though that could change as Al Ahli essentially have unlimited finances and could therefore offer him a mega-money contract.
Sadio Mane to gain Saudi Arabia transfer?
Mane only joined Bayern from Liverpool last summer, as the German titans spent £35m to sign him. However, the Senegalese is already being linked with an exit after a troublesome debut campaign at the Allianz Arena.
Mane has failed to live up to expectations at Bayern. While his record of 12 goals and six assists in 38 games does not sound too bad, it was a clear reduction on the numbers he put up in a Liverpool shirt.
Mane was also suspended by Bayern in April after he allegedly punched team-mate Leroy Sane in the face.
It would be a shame if the star left Europe as he is 31 years of age, which means he has a couple of seasons left at the top level. But at the same time, it would be good to see him reunite with Firmino.
Along with Mo Salah, they formed a fantastic attacking partnership under Jurgen Klopp, helping Liverpool to win silverware such as the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
