The Senegalese striker, suspended by the Bavarian club, will not be part of the group which will face Hoffenheim on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
Still looking for his first goal in 2023, Sadio Mané will have to wait before finding the net. The Senegalese striker has been suspended by Bayern Munich, who announced it in a press release published in the afternoon, Thursday April 13: “Sadio Mané, 31 years old, will not be part of FC Bayern’s squad for Saturday’s home game against Hoffenheim.” The reason for this penalty? “Incorrect behavior by Mané after FC Bayern’s Champions League game at Manchester City“, it is specified in the press release.
Mané, who will be fined for his behavior, physically attacked his teammate Leroy Sané in the locker room, after his team’s heavy defeat on the lawn of Cityzens (0-3). Entering the second period, the Senegalese did not weigh on the face of the meeting and complained about a remark from Sané against him at the end of the match.
The “FC Hollywood”, nickname given to Bayern Munich because of the recurring friction between players, is back. Among the most famous bursts, Bixente Lizarazu and Lothar Matthäus, in 1999, then Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben, in 2012, had thus come to blows. This has never stopped the German club from winning titles, as Bayern are used to dealing with such situations. On Thursday, Mané and Sané took part in training together. Coach Thomas Tuchel, for his part, discussed a few seconds with the Senegalese aside.
“It takes some time to adapt, it’s legitimate. He still needs to fine-tune his automatisms with his teammates. (…) It’s just a matter of time“, tempered the latter, freshly appointed coach of Bayern, before the match against Manchester City. Tuchel tried to explain the difficulties of Mané since his arrival in Bavaria last summer.
The Senegalese has not yet found the level that allowed him to finish second in the last Ballon d’Or, behind Karim Benzema. To the point of being downgraded in the hierarchy of Bayern attackers, behind Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting. His fibula fracture, which sidelined him for three and a half months and deprived him of the World Cup with Senegal, did not help.