With Barcelona looking for a replacement for Lionel Messi, a Liverpool star is open to becoming the replacement and to reunite with manager Ronald Koeman.

Lionel Messi is seemingly on his way out of Barcelona. 

After a 19-year spell at the Catalan club, Messi handed in a transfer request on August 25th to Barcelona officials and is in talks with clubs such as Manchester City, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain.

With this news, Barcelona and Ronald Koeman are looking for a replacement, and the Dutch manager seems to have found who he wants.

Liverpool star Sadio Mane once played under Koeman at Southampton in the Premier League and is Koeman’s priority as the Messi replacement.

Even though it is well-known that Koeman wants Mane, the Senegalese international is open to the move, believing that a switch to Barcelona would help him win individual honours according to Mundo Deportivo.

Mane only finished fourth in the 2019 Ballon D’Or when he arguably should have finished second behind Messi. 

The Liverpool forward is also allegedly irked by the perception that his teammates Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah earn more plaudits than he does for Liverpool’s success.

Barcelona reportedly acknowledge they would need to part with around £107million for the 28-year-old. However, with Messi and Luis Suarez looking set to leave, a player like Mane is needed.

The Catalan-based team have also been linked with Memphis Depay from Lyon to team-up with Mane and Antoine Griezmann as Koeman’s ideal front three.

source:- sportbible