Sadio Mane set to buy French club Bourges Foot 18

Ex-Liverpool forward Sadio Mane is set to take over French football club Bourges Foot 18.

31-year-old Mane, who spent six years at Liverpool scoring 120 goals, joined Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League this summer, after a season at Bayern Munich.

According to French outlet Berry Républicain, Mane is set to complete the purchase of the semi-professional club who play in the National 2 (the fourth tier of France's footballing pyramid).

It is reported that Mane has been planning to invest in a football club for some time, with initial talks with Bourges Foot's president, Cheikh Sylla, taking place three years ago, when the Senegal captain was still a Liverpool player.

Mane has now, according to the report, officially signed the documentation to take over as the majority investor at the club based in the central city of Bourges.

The 2022 Ballon d'Or runner up has also spoken with the mayor of Bourges, while a press conference is planned for the official announcement of the news on Wednesday.

Bourges have had a difficult start to the 2023/24 season and sit 13th out of 14th in the table, with just a single victory in seven matches.

The report adds that with Mane's involvement "the football landscape in Bourges will change completely" and that the forward "has already put his hand in his pocket" for new signings.

Mane began his European footballing career in France, when he joined Metz back in 2011. He left for Red Bull Salzburg a year later and went on to become a Liverpool legend after arriving as the first big-money signing of the Jurgen Klopp era, in a £30m move from Southampton in 2016.