SADIO MANE has wiped out any fears Jurgen Klopp may have had that he is planning to quit Liverpool this summer.
The Senegal star is a target for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Sadio Mane wants to help fire Liverpool to yet more gloryCredit: AP:Associated Press
And he appears in no hurry to sign the new £11.5million-a-year deal offered to him by Liverpool nine months ago.
But at the same time he has made it clear he is not in any rush to quit the newly crowned Premier League champions.
Instead the forward claims he wants to help his club win plenty more silverware — and has paid tribute to how boss Klopp has made him a better player.
Mane, 28, said: “This is another step for all of us for what we want to achieve.
“As football players you always have to be professional and hungry, in a good way, to win everything.
“I think we have a great team, great staff and the club is amazing.
“We have another step and big things to achieve, so we won’t stop here.
“We just have to believe in ourselves still and keep working harder and be humble, for sure.
“Work hard and try to achieve bigger and bigger things with this club.”
While Mane’s current deal does not expire until 2023, Liverpool want to tie him down for a further two years.
They are prepared to make him the club’s joint–highest paid player on £220,000 a week to put him on a par with central defender Virgil van Dijk, who is set to sign a new contract soon.
That would mean a huge pay hike of £70,000 a week on his current pay packet.
Klopp is understood to have grown anxious over the lack of progress.
But the way Mane raves about the manager who brought the title back to Anfield after a 30-year wait, the German need have no immediate concerns.
The forward stressed: “He is a great manager and everybody is happy with him. I am lucky to be working with him, for sure.
“As a player and a human being, I have developed under him, which is really important for every player.
“We can see how the players develop in this team, so I think all the things come from him. I will say again, thanks to him.
“This has been an incredible moment for us, a unique moment.
“I always say that dreams are allowed and, this year, we showed great character to make it happen and that anything is possible in football.”
Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino may have been the Fab Three who grabbed the scoring headlines during their club’s triumph — but Mane insists the whole squad were integral to their Premier League triumph.
He said: “I always say we are lucky boys! People are always talking about us three but I think this team is more than the front three.
“I am lucky to play alongside these two great players and they make everything easier for me.
“I will keep trying to work harder and harder to get better and better for the next games.”
Salah, who has hit 21 goals this season, is also loving the feelgood factor generated by the European champions’ title win.
He said: “I can’t describe it with words, it’s so hard to say how it feels.
“When I came here, I said I wanted to win the Premier League — the first thing in my head was, ‘I want to win the Premier League and the Champions League’.
“People said, ‘If you could choose one . . . ?’ But now I can say that I’d choose both!”
Liverpool will be given a guard of honour by deposed champions Manchester City at the Etihad tomorrow night.
But central defender Joel Matip will not be on the pitch as a foot injury has ruled him out until next season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
