'He was the perfect attacker!' - Trent laments loss of legendary striker sold by Klopp

Sadio Mane formed part of Liverpool’s fabled front three alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino during his six glorious seasons at Anfield, winning the Champions League, the Premier League, the Club World Cup and the FA Cup among other honours. 

The Senegal forward scored 120 goals in 269 games for Jurgen Klopp’s side having signed from Southampton in the summer of 2016 for a £34 million fee. 

The 32-year-old was the first of the front three to leave, packing his bags for Bayern Munich in 2022, in a £27.4m move that didn’t work out for either party.

Roberto Firmino has since moved to Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League while there are considerable doubts over the future of Salah with his contract expiring next summer. 

After a single disappointing campaign in Bavaria, Mane was on the move again to Saudi Arabia, where he linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. 

Mane’s time at Liverpool also coincided with Senegal’s famous 2021 Africa Cup of Nations win, which came in a penalty shootout against Salah’s Egypt, and he has also been crowned as a two-time African Football of the Year. 

While Mane’s time at the top has probably passed, he was a formidable opponent for Premier League defences, winning the Golden Boot during the 2018-19 campaign. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold shared Mane’s glory days on Merseyside, being a key part of Klopp's title-winning teams at right back, and now describes his former team-mate as the “perfect attacker”. 

Mane is similar to Ronaldo says Trent

 “He's the one player that I’ve played with that I’ve always thought I’m thankful I never had to play against him,” the 25-year-old told Gary Neville on The Overlap. 

“He was a perfect attacker, he had everything. As an athlete, he was probably similar to [Cristiano] Ronaldo I would say. 

“He had the jump, he could get up. He was fast, he could finish [with] both feet, he was just a threat at all times for everyone.”

Klopp opted to cut Mane loose at the end of the 2021-22 season, utilising Luis Diaz more frequently on the left side of attack, although the Colombian has come in for criticism regarding his finishing skills this season.