It’s the transfer story Liverpool fans still whisper about like sacred scripture, and now Sadio Mané has finally lifted the lid on the dramatic 48-hour whirlwind in the summer of 2016 that saw him reject Manchester United, verbally agree to join Tottenham Hotspur… and then dump both clubs the moment Jürgen Klopp rang his phone.

In a bombshell interview with Canal+ this week, the Al-Nassr superstar, now 33 and still banging in goals in Saudi Arabia, revealed the brutal honesty he delivered to two of England’s biggest clubs, and the six-word promise from Klopp that flipped his entire future upside down.

“I was completely honest with Manchester United,” Mané admitted, eyes gleaming with the same mischief that once terrorised Premier League full-backs. “Louis van Gaal called me personally. He told me about the history, the number 7 shirt, all the usual things. But I looked at the squad – Rooney, Ibrahimović was coming, Martial, Depay, Mata… I said to him straight: ‘Coach, with respect, how am I supposed to play with all those stars already there? Where is my place?’ He tried to convince me, but I wasn’t convinced by what he said. I told him no.”

Old Trafford was stunned. One of the most explosive talents in Europe, fresh from a 25-goal season at Southampton, had just turned down Manchester United because he didn’t fancy being another galaxy-dweller in an already overcrowded constellation.

Then came Tottenham.

“I went to their training ground – everything was beautiful,” Mané continued. “I met Mauricio Pochettino. We spoke for hours. He showed me exactly where I fit: left wing, high pressing, young hungry team, new stadium coming. Honestly? At that moment I was more convinced by Tottenham’s project than United’s. I shook hands with Daniel Levy. I said, ‘Go and agree with Southampton. I’m coming.’”

Spurs thought they had their man. The deal was 90% done. All that remained were the formalities.

And then, three days later, Mané’s phone buzzed with a German number.

Jürgen Klopp didn’t waste time on small talk.

“Sadio,” he said, voice crackling with that familiar manic energy, “we’re going to build a team that no one will want to play against! And you’ll be a starter in every single game!”

Six words.

Six life-changing words.

Mané’s face in the interview breaks into the widest grin. “The second I heard that, I felt it in my stomach. Boom. I didn’t need to hear anything else. Liverpool weren’t even in the Champions League! We finished eighth the season before! But I didn’t care. I called my agent straight away and said, ‘Stop everything with Tottenham. This is my team. I want Liverpool.’”

Within hours he was on the phone to Pochettino, personally delivering the devastating news. “I told Mauricio, ‘Coach, I’m sorry, something bigger just came. My heart is somewhere else.’ He was not happy – I think he wanted to kill me for ten minutes – but he understood.”

The rest is Anfield folklore: £34 million, 120 goals, a Premier League title, a Champions League, the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, that impossible corner-flag goal against Bayern, the night he destroyed Manchester City single-handedly… all because of one phone call.

“People forget,” Mané laughed, “Klopp basically promised me the moon when Liverpool was a mess. No European football, no guarantees, just a madman on the phone saying we were going to build something scary. And you know what? He kept every single word.”

Tottenham, meanwhile, still wake up in cold sweats remembering the transfer that slipped through their fingers. One source close to the club admitted this week: “We were literally printing the ‘Welcome Sadio’ graphics. Then Klopp happened.”

As for Manchester United? They eventually spent £89 million on Paul Pogba that same window, a world-record fee for a player who never quite hit the heights expected, while the man who rejected them for being “too starry” went on to become a legend 11 miles down the East Lancs Road.

Moral of the story? Sometimes all it takes is six words from the right madman on the phone to rewrite history.

“We’re going to build a team that no one will want to play against.”

He did.

And for the last nine years, nobody did.