09 September 2023 , 12:30
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Sadio Mane left Liverpool last year after six glorious years at Anfield for the bright lights of Bayern Munich, but his legacy is still felt by the younger generation of Reds talent.
The Senegal star's lone season in Germany was an undeniable disaster, but he will forever be remembered fondly in the red half of Merseyside, both by fans and his former teammates - just ask Billy Koumetio. The 20-year-old defender is still on the books at Anfield, though is currently on loan at Ligue 2 outfit USL Dunkerque.
Koumetio joined Liverpool in 2018 but has found first-team minutes hard to come by given the plethora of world-class central defenders in front of him, including the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez. Despite this, the youngster clearly harbours no ill feelings towards anyone at Anfield and he actually waxed lyrical about his former teammate Mane.
Discussing his experience in and around the Liverpool first team on the training ground, Koumetio told the Liverpool Echo: "Sadio is always the one who was there before everybody. He works really hard. I came also early one time, but not as early as Sadio, so I was seeing him working in the gym. I was like, ‘Wow! He is working in the gym already.’
"This is the time when people come in and go to eat, but he’s not eating. He's there, working in the gym. 'Wow'. He was doing sit-ups, and sit-ups, and sit-ups. 'Wow'. I went to get changed and went to get something quickly to eat. Came back to the changing room, and then went to join him in the gym. I saw him working, and then the squad came 30-45 minutes afterwards, and he was still working there! He was the last to go out of there. 'Wow.'"
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Koumetio continued, revealing that while Mane's work ethic was admirable, the former Southampton forward was never shy in extending his advice to those around him, especially the young players.
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Sadio Mane was credited as someone who was always keen to help the Liverpool youngstersThe young Reds ace added: "Sometimes, he is the one who gives me advice on how to work and how to do things. It's not just him, they are all examples to me. I look at the way they are doing things. And if, for example, for 10 seconds or one minute I'm just there doing nothing, it would be like, 'Billy! What are you doing?! Come on, come on! Give more, give more!'
"But Sadio is one that was pushing me and I see his mindset and his impact. It's not only me, you saw him talking to the other youngsters and Divock and Hendo talking to the young ones who come from the academy."
Mane is now plying his trade for Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr, sharing a dressing room with five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, ex-Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte and former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.