In his revealing book “Sí Señor: My Liverpool Years,” Roberto Firmino unveils the behind-the-scenes tensions between Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah during their impactful tenure at Liverpool. The former Liverpool striker, who bid farewell to Anfield last summer after eight years, candidly shared that he served as a “firefighter,” managing conflicts between the star forwards and underscoring his crucial role as a peacemaker within one of Europe’s most formidable attacking trios.
But judging from Firmino’s latest book, they have been rivals for a long time.
One excerpt details the tension that would mount between the two, particularly one infamous moment after Liverpool beat Burnley 3-0 but Mane was left fuming when Salah refused to pass to him for an open goal.
“Together. Salah and Mane had had their little problems before, but that time everything happened on the field, there for the world to see. That day, at Burnley, the lid came off.
“Their argument wasn’t funny. Potentially, it could have caused problems for us. Maybe the Boss [Jurgen Klopp] and some others were worried.”
Firmino added “They were never best friends; each kept himself to himself. It was rare to see the two of them talking and I’m not sure if that had to do with the Egypt–Senegal rivalry in African competitions. I truly don’t know. But they also never stopped talking, never severed ties. They always acted with the utmost professionalism.”
Liverpool’s front three of Salah, Mane and Firmino were among the most feared forwards in Europe in 2019.
Mane left Liverpool in 2022 for Bayern Munich while Firmino packed his bags in the summer after his contract expired.
But their era at Anfield will never be forgotten, scoring a whopping 338 goals since becoming a trio during the 2017/18 season, winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup along the way.
