Jurgen Klopp surprised by Sadio Mane's failure at Bayern Munich
- Mane left Liverpool in 2022 for Bayern after major success at Anfield
- Forward struggled in Germany and has now sealed switch to Al Nassr
- Klopp to lead Reds out against Bayern in pre-season friendly
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he was shocked Sadio Mane flopped at Bayern Munich.
The forward was one of the best players in the Premier League during six successful years at Anfield, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League under Klopp. While at the Reds, Mane also won the Golden Boot in 2019 and hit over 20 goals in four seasons - including 23 in his final campaign at the club.
Expectations were high when Bayern Munich opted to fork out £35m for Mane in the summer of 2022 to be the club's de-facto Robert Lewandowski replacement.
However, after just one season, seven Bundesliga goals and a fight with his teammate Leroy Sane, Mane has now left the club to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Nassr.
When asked about Mane's failure at Bayern during a press conference, Klopp admitted he was shocked.
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He said: "I don't know what went wrong [at Bayern]. When he left us, he left us on a high in really good shape, world class player.
"New environment, new expectations maybe. I didn't speak to Sadio about it."
Klopp was speaking ahead of Liverpool's pre-season friendly clash with Bayern on 2 August. Previewing the game itself, the Reds manager was keen to stress the quality of opposition his team were set to face.
He added: "It is the most difficult game for us, definitely.
"We saw same footage of their previous games in Japan including against Manchester City. Bayern are traditionally a really good team.
"They have four world-class centre-halves, two world-class midfield pairings, up front speed and everything and technique, finishing skills. That's quite impressive. But we want a strong opponent so this is definitely the toughest test for us this pre-season. That's what we need in this moment."
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