Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane show true Liverpool colours on-camera before heated incident

Former Liverpool teammates and Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane share a strong bond, as seen when the pair reunited on opposite sides of an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final

The highly anticipated reunion between Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane was caught on camera ahead of Egypt vs Senegal on Wednesday evening. The two former Liverpool teammates shared a warm embrace before going head-to-head for a place in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final.

Mane made 269 appearances for Liverpool between 2016 and 2022, scoring 120 goals whilst becoming a Premier League and Champions League winner. For the majority of that time he shared the field with Salah, who has remained at Anfield to add another league title to his record and become the Reds’ third all-time highest goalscorer at 250.

Their status as two members of a deadly attacking trio alongside Brazilian Roberto Firmino will live long in the memory of the club’s supporters and stands as the reason why many were looking forward to a potential reunion during the 2025 AFCON tournament.

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As results took shape in Morocco, Salah’s Egypt were eventually pitted against Mane’s Senegal at the semi-final stage. The pair were caught on camera in the tunnel of Tanger’s Stade Ibn Batouta ahead of kick-off, and shared a hug as old friends before becoming adversaries, at least for 90 minutes.

The match was a repeat of the 2021 final, when Salah and Mane were still Liverpool teammates. On that occasion Senegal emerged the victors and lifted the AFCON trophy after Mane netted the winning penalty in a shoot-out.

Since the Senegalese’ departure to Bayern Munich months after that final, plenty has been made about the status of their relationship whilst Anfield teammates.

The two famously clashed during Liverpool’s victory over Burnley back in 2019, when Mane took issue with Salah opting to shoot rather than passing him the ball in the box before being withdrawn.

And they did so again not long after their embrace on Wednesday evening. As the first half drew to a close at 0-0, Salah fouled his former Liverpool teammate from behind.

Mane was not pleased whatsoever and a heated argument broke out between both squads, leading to a yellow card for Sunderland and Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra. As a result, he will miss either the final or the third-place play-off, which are both scheduled for the coming weekend.

Before Wednesday’s semi-final clash, Salah was bluntly told by former Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel that he must win AFCON if he is to be regarded as a legend.

“This man here will be looking to get his hands on this tournament, because he hasn’t won it,” Mikel said. “You can talk about the Premier League and the Champions League, but he has to win the AFCON.”

Jay-Jay Okocha added: “In Africa you might win whatever trophy with your club, if you don’t win anything for your nation, they don’t regard you as a legend.”

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