Steven Gerrard is reportedly on the verge of being hired as the new manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, and he could potentially bring another modern Liverpool legend with him.
As per GOAL, the 43-year-old is believed to be close to accepting a lucrative offer to take the reins with the Dammam outfit for what would be his first managerial post since being sacked by Aston Villa last October.
According to French outlet Sports Zone on Twitter, Sadio Mane has a ‘huge’ offer from the club, with PIF dreaming of bringing him to Saudi Arabia as Bayern Munich reportedly try to offload the former Reds attacker.
This follows on from a report by The Guardian on Monday that a number of clubs from the Middle Eastern country are considering a move for the Senegal star’s one-time Anfield teammate Bobby Firmino, who left Liverpool at the end of the 2022/23 season upon the expiry of his contract.
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With Cristiano Ronaldo already playing in Saudi Arabia, Karim Benzema recently joining Al-Ittihad and players like Riyad Mahrez, Luka Modric and Hugo Lloris also linked with possible moves to the country (The Guardian), its allure as a destination for high-profile footballers appears to be growing all the time.
That reputation would be further underlined if either or both of Firmino and Mane follow suit, a scenario which would’ve seemed rather unlikely just three years when, along with Mo Salah, they were firing Liverpool towards a historic Premier League title triumph.
The financial backing of PIF, who also own Newcastle United, has seen the Saudi Pro League being touted as a plausible destination for a number of stars who lit up Europe in recent years, although in purely footballing terms it can’t rival the top European leagues for prestige.
Nonetheless, having been subjected to plenty of criticism during his time at Bayern, and also getting into conflict with some teammates, Mane might be tempted by a fresh start elsewhere, and it’d be an intriguing development if he were to become part of Gerrard’s squad at Al-Ettifaq.
Both are modern-day Liverpool legends but never actually played alongside one another, as the Senegal star came to the club a year after the Huyton icon left. However, if they’re to both end up at the same team in Saudi Arabia, plenty of Reds fans could have a keen eye on the Dammam outfit’s fortunes.
You can view the tweet from Sports Zone below, via @SportsZone__ on Twitter:
⚡️FLASH ZONE ⚽️
Le Bayern Munich veut se séparer de Sadio Mané.
▫️Le sénégalais a été proposé à Paris, Madrid et à des clubs anglais au cours des semaines précédentes, les contacts sont pour l’heure infructueux.
▫️Le joueur dispose aussi d’une énorme offre saoudienne, le PIF… pic.twitter.com/BX3S6K4d2Q
— SPORTS ZONE (@SportsZone__) June 12, 2023