Sadio Mane reportedly turned down an opportunity to celebrate’s Senegal’s qualification for the World Cup out of respect for his Liverpool teammate, Mo Salah.
The No.10’s national outfit overcame the Pharaohs in the second-leg of action, beating Carlos Queiroz’s men 3-1 on penalties following Hamdi Fathi’s own goal.
“Klopp says he was impressed and touched by Mane’s insistence he wouldn’t revel in beating the nation of his team-mate twice in the past month, as Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations and then qualified for the World Cup finals,” David Maddock wrote for the Mirror.
“On his return to Anfield after both games, team-mates had planned a ‘celebration’, but out of respect to Salah, the Reds forward asked that the usual ‘ceremony’ to recognise his achievement was cancelled.
“And Klopp claimed it shows their bond, as team-mates and friends.”
It meant further heartbreak for the former Roma hitman, who earlier suffered defeat at the hands of his fellow 29-year-old in the final of the AFCON.
It’s a remarkably touching gesture from the 29-year-old given that he also opted out of celebrating his earlier triumph with the Lions of Teranga for the exact same reason.
With club unity of vital importance as we head into the final few games of the campaign – not to mention a potentially seismic month of football for us – it’s the kind of act that could further bind the squad together at a pivotal stage of the season.
Hopefully, there’ll be plenty of reason for the whole side to celebrate once all the action has been and gone.
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