Mohamed Salah has paid tribute to Sadio Mane after the Senegal international swapped Liverpool for Bayern Munich in a €41million (£35.2m) move.
Mane was unveiled as a Bayern player on Wednesday after signing a three-year contract with the Bundesliga champions, who have moved to strengthen their attack in the face of Robert Lewandowski's attempts to join Barcelona.
The Senegal international scored 90 Premier League goals for Liverpool in a highly successful six-year spell at the club, with Salah (118) the only Reds player to outscore him during that time.
Having also impressed for Southampton before making his move to Anfield, Mane hit at least 10 goals in all eight of his Premier League seasons – the most campaigns a player has played in the competition while reaching double figures each time.
After Jurgen Klopp branded Mane one of Liverpool's greatest ever players in the aftermath of his departure, strike partner Salah moved to thank him for his contribution to a successful era.
"It's been quite a ride!" Salah wrote on Twitter, alongside several images of the duo celebrating.
"Thank you for all the good times and I wish you all the best in your new adventure! You will be missed by all of us."
During his first press conference as a Bayern player, Mane said the decision to join Julian Nagelsmann's side was an easy one and he was already targeting competing for multiple trophies next season.
"When Bayern showed interest, I was intrigued and didn't have to think twice. I had other offers too, but I chose FC Bayern. They're the right club for me," he said.
"At Liverpool we fought for every title. It's the same at Bayern. When you play at Bayern you have to have the mentality to want to fight for every title.
"My whole life is a challenge – and I love challenges. We have the right team together, everyone [here] is made to win titles. We will try everything to win all titles.
"When you've spoken to the club and the coach, I can see how strong we are. I've followed the Bundesliga and the Champions League and there's no doubt that they're one of the best teams in the world."
Mane represents the first major addition made by Bayern in the transfer window, but chief executive Oliver Kahn hinted he will not be the last.
"The transfer window is still open for a very long time," he said. "We're watching everything that happens. We weren't satisfied with the second half of the season.
"We know exactly where we need competition, where we need to set stimulus points in order to be successful."
Asked about the potential impact of Mane, Kahn said the dynamic forward can raise the level of the Bayern squad as they bid to win a first Champions League title since 2019-20.
"We want to try to win the Champions League every year," he added. "But you don't win it by saying it, you have to put it into action on the pitch, but also those responsible have to create the conditions.
"He's a player who can lead the others. His presence can raise the level within a team. That's the quality that players like him have. So it's important to have top stars like him in our ranks."
KC, JC through to Manning Cup semis as champs Mona booted
A new ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup champion will be crowned after Kingston College (KC) registered a decisive 2-0 victory over reigning titleholders Mona High in their Group A quarterfinal showdown at Stadium East on Friday.
Kvist Paul (8th) and Demario Dailey (70th) did the damage for Kingston College in a win that not only ended Mona's campaign but also propelled the North Street-based team into the semifinals alongside Jamaica College (JC), who trounced Tivoli High 4-0 in a simultaneous fixture at the Ashenheim Stadium.
By virtue of the results, Jamaica College topped the group on seven points, one point ahead of Kingston College (six points), while Tivoli High (three points) and Mona High (one point) will now turn their focus to the Walker Cup knockout competition for redemption.
Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, lauded his team's composure and execution.
"It was a fantastic performance. We knew Mona would come out strong, but the boys stuck to the game plan and delivered when it mattered. Now, we look ahead to the semifinals, but as always, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. The aim is to keep the boys grounded and focused, and we will see what happens when that time comes,” Reynolds said.
With a lot at stake for Mona in particular heading into the contest, it was expected to be a close affair, but the manner in which Kingston College started ensured otherwise.
In fact, Mona had very little say in the contest as Kingston College’s show of intent resulted in an early strike inside 10 minutes. Damaine Smith delivered a perfectly placed corner kick, which Paul rose to meet and headed past Mona's goalkeeper, Riquelme Edwards.
Mona High, desperate to respond, almost found themselves further behind in the 15th minute when Dailey fired wide from a promising position.
As Mona struggled to contain Kingston College’s tactical discipline and attacking enterprise, Deshawn Byfield almost added his name to the scoresheet but had his effort dramatically cleared off the line by Dante Peralto.
Despite KC’s dominance, Mona’s goalkeeper Edwards produced a string of superb saves to keep his team in contention.
Just before halftime, he acrobatically parried a powerful shot from Kajay Fletcher, diving full stretch to his right, and Byfield failed to capitalize on the rebound.
Seconds later, Edwards was called upon again to deny a stinging shot from Smith.
Matrim Martin then unleashed a venomous right-footer, but Edwards once more stood tall, ensuring the scoreline remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued to assert their authority on the resumption as Dailey threatened in the 68th with a firm shot from close range that went straight at Edwards.
However, the Kingston College striker, sporting the number nine jersey, made amends two minutes later. Sent on his way by a brisk through pass, Dailey powered a low drive past a flat-footed Edwards to double Kingston College’s lead and effectively end Mona’s hopes of a comeback.
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
Denmark 1-2 Spain: Oyarzabal and Perez on target as Roja secure top spot
Spain secured top spot in Group A4 of the Nations League with one match to spare after defeating Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez were on the scoresheet as the unbeaten Roja made it four wins and a draw to pull six points clear of the second-placed Danes.
Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on a poor pass from Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard to open the scoring as Oyarzabal latched on to a ball from Perez and finished past Kasper Schmeichel in the 15th minute.
Villarreal forward Perez then doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute after Dani Olmo turned provider with a defence-splitting pass.
The hosts reduced the deficit with six minutes of regulation time left, as Fabian Ruiz's back pass to goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Gustav Isaksen, who had been denied by the woodwork moments earlier, and he slotted into an open goal to set up a tense ending.
But the Spaniards held on for the win and will now face Switzerland in their final group game on Monday, before taking part in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March.
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