Senegalese star Sadio Mané revealed during a podcast with Rio Ferdinand that he almost wore the Manchester United jersey in the summer of 2015.

Negotiations took place between the player, who was then with Southampton, and the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, who was leading the "Red Devils" at the time, following Mané's impressive performance, including scoring the fastest hat-trick in the history of the English Premier League.

The current Al Nassr player pointed out that the main reason the deal fell through was not financial but related to coach Louis van Gaal's vision for how he would be integrated into the team.

Mané expressed his concern about the fierce competition in United's attacking line, which included big names like Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Memphis Depay, and Ángel Di María. Mané demanded a clear plan for his future and development, which van Gaal was unable to convincingly provide, only indicating that his playing time would depend on his hard work and performance in training.

Mané explained that he needed guidance and support as a young player striving to reach his full potential and did not want his fate to be entirely dependent on proving himself among all those stars without any guarantee of continuous development. Due to the lack of conviction in the proposed plan, the Senegalese forward decided to stay at Southampton for another year, while Manchester United moved to sign French striker Anthony Martial during the same period.

One year after his failed transfer to United, Sadio Mané made his big move by joining their rivals Liverpool in 2016. There, under the leadership of Jürgen Klopp, Mané became one of the world’s top forwards, forming a fearsome attacking trio with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino that led the club to win the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League titles, confirming the wisdom of his earlier decision to seek an environment that guaranteed his development.