Fabinho has revealed that he tried to convince Sadio Mane to stay at Liverpool before the Senegal attacker sealed a summer move to Bayern Munich.
Mane brought a highly successful six years at Anfield to an end this summer, sealing a £35m move to Die Roten in June.
His departure came as something of a surprise, and in a recent interview, longtime teammate Fabinho explained how he tried to get the forward to change his mind.
"At the end of the season, I spoke a lot with Sadio. He told me about the situation that he could leave," he told The Athletic.
"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 went on to claim that other players would have to step up this season to help fill the void left by Mane's departure.
"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."
Source : 90min