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Ryan Gravenberch has revealed the influence that Sadio Mane had on his move to Liverpool last summer.
His £34 million move from Bayern Munich is proving to be one of Liverpool’s shrewdest pieces of business, with the Dutch midfielder flourishing under compatriot Arne Slot’s guidance this season.
The midfielder’s development has been particularly noteworthy in his new deeper role.
Having started every Premier League game this season, Gravenberch has already, the Ajax youth product has already nearly racked up more appearances in the league (23) than he did the entirety of last season (26).
Statistically, Gravenberch’s underlying numbers put him amongst the best midfielders in world football:
Ryan Gravenberch.
Based on 3037 minutes played.
Now Gravenberch has revealed that ahead of his move to Liverpool that Sadio Mane gave him a good feeling.
What did Ryan Gravenberch say about Sadio Mane?
Both Sadio Mane and Ryan Gravenberch’s time at Bayern Munich proved to be disappointing chapters in their careers, albeit for different reasons.
Mane’s Bayern career started promisingly with five goals in his first six appearances
However, his form rapidly deteriorated, particularly after suffering an injury before the World Cup that required surgery.
Upon his return in February, he managed only three goals in 15 games, becoming a shadow of the player Bayern thought they had signed.
Meanwhile, Gravenberch’s experience was marked by a severe lack of playing time
The Dutch midfielder managed just 938 minutes across all competitions in the 2022/23 season.
But while Mane was in Bavaria, he was able to do Liverpool one last favour.
Speaking to LFCTV for ‘A Day in the Life of Ryan Gravenberch’, the Dutchman revealed that Mane said good things about Liverpool when the topic of a transfer came about:
“Sadio is a really nice guy,” Gravenberch said.
“When I was in Munich, I asked him about Liverpool – if it’s a good step for me, how the club was and everything.”
“He said a lot of good things, so in my head I was like ‘I have to go’.”
“Basically, he sold me, yeah.”
Read More: Virgil van Dijk reveals motivation for Ryan Gravenberch: “I’ve showed him videos…”
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