Sadio Mane was maybe only inches from the Ballon d’Or; the inside of the Paris post, which his shot struck in the Champions League final; the fingertips of Thibaut Courtois, tipping a goalbound effort on to the woodwork. Inches from immortality, perhaps, from being only the second African to become officially the best player in the world. And if it is not certain he would have topped the poll, the eventual runaway winner Karim Benzema was propelled to pre-eminence by Champions League glory in a year when the poll took place before the World Cup. As it was, Mane was named the second-finest player on the planet in 2022. He finished the 2022-23 campaign as perhaps 16th in line at Bayern Munich: 15 others took the field in the win at Koln that clinched the Bundesliga, with the teenager Mathys Tel and veteran Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting summoned from the bench while Mane remained an unused substitute. He had been the fifth substitute used the previous week, sent on with four minutes to go in defeat to RB Leipzig. The decline of Mane has been a swift, undignified and unexpected affair. A lucrative one, too, given that Bayern are paying him far more than Liverpool did and Al Nassr will in turn pay him rather more again, after he joined the migration to Saudi Arabia. Mane represents one of the Pro League’s flagship signings, but is an arrival with a difference: like many others, he is in his thirties, but whereas Benzema is 35 and could argue his ambitions were realised with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo is now 38, albeit stung by the recognition the European elite did not want him when he left Manchester United, the Senegalese is only 31. So, if only for another couple of months, is Roberto Firmino, but Mane’s old sidekick’s race had appeared run. He, on the other hand, was seemingly at his peak. This, it is safe to say, is not what Mane had planned when he teased his audience ahead of the Champions League final, saying he would reveal his future after it, and when, after emerging from Mohamed Salah’s shadow to become the brightest star at Anfield, he declared he “would be the most happy player in the world” to win the Ballon d’Or. Klopp can be loyal to players who have served him well and few were as influential as the catalytic Mane. There was no hint of gloating about a decision to leave that backfired, but nor was there a pretence Mane has prospered in Bavaria. “I don’t know what went wrong,” the Liverpool manager said on Tuesday. “When Sadio left us he left on a high in really good shape: world-class player, no shadow of a doubt. To fulfil your full potential everything has to fall in place, you need a bit of luck and that wasn’t the case.” Certainly there was misfortune as injury ruled Mane out of the World Cup. His old manager nevertheless could have pointed out that most of the great Klopp players are only great Klopp players: there are notable exceptions, such as Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan, but they are outnumbered by those who never scaled such heights elsewhere or under anyone else. That category now includes Mane. “Basically, Sadio had an unsatisfactory season and fell short of expectations,” Thomas Tuchel said last month. “The player knows my opinion and the opinion of the club.” Tuchel sounded more forgiving before Bayern face Liverpool in Singapore, a reunion without Mane after he has left both clubs in successive summers. “I totally understand that he feels hurt,” he said. “I also don’t feel happy. We didn’t bring it to the full potential which is my responsibility.” Mane suffered after Tuchel’s appointment, starting just four times, scoring just once and being suspended by the club for punching Leroy Sane after the defeat to Manchester City. Regime change worked against him, but his tally of goals for the sacked Julian Nagelsmann – 11 – was also underwhelming. As Klopp hinted, circumstances can play a part. Mane could flourish in a system without a conventional striker at Liverpool, with Firmino usually the false nine before the Senegalese finished his Anfield career in that role. But Bayern, where a No 9 has traditionally been a pillar of the team, the experiment of replacing Lewandowski with a more fluid forward line failed: hoping some combination of Mane, Sane, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala could dovetail slickly instead made Choupo-Moting more important than ever before and led to a summer pursuit of Harry Kane. Bayern is a club with its own dynamics, with entrenched power bases in the dressing room, a club with stars and yet one who did not buy those of Mane’s stature. Not since Arjen Robben 13 years earlier had they bought such a major attacker who was neither German nor recruited from the Bundesliga. If Mane was the outsider, he has headed out after a lone, increasingly ignominious year. And the 193 votes Mane received in the Ballon d’Or for 2022 are likely to be 193 more than he gets for 2023. Read More Liverpool make second Romeo Lavia bid as Southampton set transfer price Jurgen Klopp responds after Kylian Mbappe to Liverpool rumours Liverpool name Virgil van Dijk as new captain after Jordan Henderson exit Why Axel Disasi could solve Mauricio Pochettino’s defensive problems at Chelsea Football rumours: Harry Kane will stay if no deal agreed by start of season Young England fans react to World Cup win over China: ‘We’ve got our mojo back’

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed the “massive steps” striker Darwin Nunez has made already this season after his key contribution in the 3-1 win over West Ham. The Uruguay international’s fourth goal of the season – which keeps him level with Mohamed Salah, who netted the opening penalty – was pivotal in turning the match the hosts’ way after Jarrod Bowen’s diving header had restored parity. Substitute Diogo Jota’s late goal made sure of a fifth successive Premier League victory to move the Reds into second place in the table, but it was Nunez’s all-round display that particularly caught the eye, his brilliant volley the game’s standout moment. “He has made massive steps in the last few weeks. He is a threat. You all saw the goal, that was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong,” Klopp said. “Incredible. Everybody is looking at me when I talk about the goals but these eyes – I saw it only once – can’t wait to see it properly back. “He was always available. It’s super-important for us now that we have a ball player: chip the ball (into him), get it on the chest and play from there. “That’s how we scored the third goal at Wolves, super-important for us. The defensive work he puts in is probably the main difference. “He always wanted (to do it) but it was less coordinated. Now that looks much better. “We have found a way to do it around him, Curtis (Jones) and Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) help a lot, how flexible they are in that way. It’s really good, absolutely.” In the end the result was comfortable but for long periods that was not the case as a resilient West Ham always posed a threat and were good at breaking up Liverpool’s momentum. “It was expected. A difficult game; some very good moments in the first half but we were not enough in control to deny them completely. “I really thought we played good in different phases, lost some balls we shouldn’t have lost, but we scored our goal which was a super counter-attack. “When they scored, I was not completely surprised. We should have defended it better, that’s clear. The most important is you stay in the game and that’s what we did in the second half. “We controlled much better and gave them a proper challenge. We really caused them some problems and we scored some super goals.” West Ham manager David Moyes, who has yet to win in 20 career visits to Anfield, was frustrated his side could not hold on for longer at 1-1. “We did a pretty good job in first half. We created a few chances in the first half,” he said. “We were probably trying to offer them problems and until the penalty I thought we had a really good grasp of the game. “I thought Liverpool counter-attacked us more than we did to them because we had really good control of the game. “You might come here and only get three chances and they will get 10 and have to hope they will miss nine and we take two. “I was disappointed with the second goal. Lots of positives to take but more disappointed with the second and third goal, probably more the third.” Moyes has also dismissed the chances of re-signing former midfielder Jesse Lingard, who trained with the club after leaving Nottingham Forest as a free agent in the summer, with the player now seemingly destined for Saudi Arabia. “I am quite comfortable, more than relaxed with it,” he added. “We like Jesse a lot, I just don’t know if we need another player in the position.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sam Hain reveals sleepless night before impressive England debut Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea need to grow up as a team after fresh setback I don’t understand handball rule – Spurs’ Ange Postecoglou bemused by penalty