Losing Sadio Mane is big loss but now other players have to step up, asserts Fabinho

Following their heartbreaking Champions League final where a single goal from Vinicius Junior saw Real Madrid beat Liverpool, it had many wondering what would happen to the Reds. But in the aftermath while the club signed Darwin Nunez, they also lost Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich. The Senegalese international had spent six fruitful years at the club but wanted to move on for a new challenge in Germany.

However, while his absence will be felt by Liverpool, the likes of Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota will be expected to step up and fill the difference. That was reiterated by Fabinho as he admitted that while losing Mane “is a big loss”, he believes that the team has to deal with it and that “other players have to step up and take on greater responsibility”. The Brazilian also added that he tried to convince the Senegalese to stay but it was to no avail as Mane had “already made his mind up”.

“At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave. I was always saying to him, ‘Come on Sadio, stay here. You can win the Premier League and the Champions League right here, don’t leave’. But I think he had already made his mind up. We had to respect that,” Fabinho told the Athletic.

“Sadio had a really good story in a Liverpool shirt. He played for six years here and during that time he won everything you can win and he decided that he wanted a new challenge. That’s OK. After the parade in Liverpool, everyone said goodbye to him. We knew there was a good chance he would be leaving. I always kept some hope that he would still stay but then it was all confirmed."

“Losing Sadio is a big loss. He was one of our best players but it’s something that we can’t change. We have to deal with it. Now other players have to step up and take on greater responsibility,” he added.