Sadio Mane answers cheeky Mohamed Salah transfer question after Saudi Arabia rumours

Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane provided a cheeky answer to one supporter when asked why his former Reds team-mate Mohamed Salah was not in Saudi Arabia.

Mane, who made the move to the Saudi Pro League earlier this month and joined Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, was quizzed about the destination of the Egyptian after he was linked with a sensational move to the Middle East.

On Sunday evening, reports emerging from the Gulf State claiming Liverpool’s No.11 was being eyed by Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad, who have already added Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and formed Reds midfielder Fabinho to their ranks this summer. It was claimed Salah would be paid in the excess of £160m for two seasons at Al Ittihad, with the club willing to pay Liverpool roughly £50m for the 31-year-old.

However, despite the player’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, emphatically ruling out the prospect of Salah leaving Anfield this summer and insisting the player remains “committed” to Liverpool, that didn’t stop one hopeful of asking Mane for an update on his former team-mate over the weekend prior to Al Nassr’s Arab Club Champions Cup game against Raja Club Athletic.

“Where is Mohamed Salah?” shouted one fan as Mane headed into the stadium. “He’s in Liverpool,” replied Mane, sporting a broadening smile.

Reports of Al-Ittihad eyeing up a move for Salah come just days after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressed his concern at the Saudi Pro League’s transfer window staying open for longer than the Premier League and many other leagues in Europe, with most shutting on September 1.

“The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment,” Klopp said in Singapore last week. “Pretty much the worst thing is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe that’s not helpful.

“UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that. It’s already influential for us but we will have to learn to deal with it.”