Sadio Mane insists it is ‘the right time for a challenge’ after completing his £35.1million move to Bayern Munich from Liverpool on Wednesday.
The star forward arrived in Bavaria on a private jet from Majorca on Tuesday with his advisor Bjorn Bezemer and then went on to Barmherzige Bruder hospital to undergo his medical.
Mane has now put pen to paper on a three-year contract worth £250,000-a-week at the Allianz Arena, ending his six-year stay on Merseyside.
Speaking for the first time as a Bayern player, Mane said: ‘I’m very happy to finally be with FC Bayern in Munich.
‘We had a lot of talks and I felt the great interest of this big club from the start. So there was no doubt in my mind right from the start.
‘This is the right time for this challenge. I want to achieve a lot with this club.’
The Senegal star, who arrived at Anfield from Southampton in 2016 for £34m, played his last match for the Reds in the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid.
Mane hinted before that match in Paris that his future may lie away from Anfield and then confirmed his intention to leave less than 24 hours after the full-time whistle.
In a farewell interview with Liverpool, Mane added: ‘Obviously it is strange – really, really strange – to no longer be a Liverpool player after six years spent at Anfield.
‘But of course I had a great time, an unbelievable time, and since my first day I really, really enjoyed training, playing, at Anfield especially and in front of these amazing supporters. Now it’s come to the end, so what can you say?
‘I think whoever is leaving Liverpool, with those supporters you will always miss them because so far [they are] the best in the world and I have always said it.
‘I would love one day to come back to Anfield to say hi to them and of course to watch Liverpool playing because for me, I am going to be Liverpool’s No.1 fan after the supporters!’.
When asked about the prospect of returning to Anfield in the Champions League, he said: ‘You know the Champions League and how the draw always goes on, it can happen for sure and if it happens it happens.
‘It is football and of course I have to come and I have to play. But like I said, Liverpool is Liverpool and we will see. We will see what is going to happen.’
Mane won the 2019 Champions League with Liverpool and the Premier League a year later
Mane won six major trophies during six years on Merseyside, claiming every major club honour, and scored a total of 120 goals in 269 games for the club.
This season, Mane scored 23 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions during a campaign where he also won the Africa Cup of Nations with his country.
