'Anfield is unbelievable. I always want to be at Anfield, all the time…'
Sadio Mane feels at home now.
On and off the pitch, in the city of Liverpool and at Anfield, Mane feels at home.
“Honestly, I like to be here. The weather is not the best but I’m OK with that, I don’t care about the weather,” he laughs.
“I like to go to restaurants and eat with people and because I don’t have a favourite food, any restaurant for me is the best!”
Mane’s expression changes from one of humour to one of wonder.
“With the football, everybody knows Anfield - it’s unbelievable. I always want to be at Anfield, all the time. I wish we could play every two or three days at Anfield because it’s always exciting to play in front of these fans.”
After two seasons with Southampton, Mane became a Liverpool player. Some doubted whether he would prove worthy of his transfer fee, whether he could adapt once again to new surroundings.
They needn’t have worried.
“I think for a football player, if you want to perform and do well you can’t think about your price or what other people say,” Mane shrugs.
“Other people will talk when you do well and they will talk when you do bad, so I think it’s not important to think about what is being said about you.
“If you want to perform, I think you need to be focused in your head and believe in your qualities and work hard. Then after that, give your best for the team. Don’t listen or think about [what other people say].
“When I came to Europe, I had a mission. My mission was to play in one of the big clubs in Europe, that’s why I was giving everything.
“And finally, I think I am in one of the big clubs so I’m happy to be here.”
Mission accomplished, then?
Not quite. Sadio Mane, you see, is never satisfied.
“The next thing now is to play in the Champions League with Liverpool and win trophies with Senegal,” he asserts.
“And why not win many, many trophies with my club, as well?”