Bayern Munich have announced the departure of Sadio Mane’s best friend and former Oldham Athletic player Desire Segbe Azankpo bringing an end to Mane’s influence on the German powerhouse.
During the summer of 2022, Sadio Mane departed Liverpool to join the German Bundesliga champions and was reportedly crucial in getting a deal done for his friend with Bayern B team.
Segbe Azankpo was successful in Bayern’s second division, scoring 36 seconds into his debut and completing the season with 12 goals from 28 matches.
Sadio Mane’s departure from Bayern Munich was announced on the 1st of August, 2023, during the just-concluded European transfer window leaving a cloud of pressure over Desire Segbe Azankpo’s future at the club.
According to reports, the German club and Segbe Azankpo have agreed to go on a different path.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old former Oldham frontman is reportedly joining a new club straight up.
The former Benin Youth International striker has put pen to paper on a one-year deal with Belgium’s second division club side RFC Seraing following their bottom league finish of top-flight last campaign.
The Sporting Director of Bayern Campus Halil Altintop, said; “Desire approached us with the request to terminate his contract for personal reasons. After a few discussions, we fulfilled his wish at short notice”.
The Sporting Director notified the public that both parties decided to terminate the contract between them after the striker chose to seek a new pasture.
He added; “We got to know Desire as an exemplary professional who helped our young team on and off the pitch. We wish him all the best for his future in Belgium, both on a sporting and personal level”.
The 30-year-old and Sadio Mane, 31, graduated from the Generation Foot Academy together in Mane’s native country Senegal, and the duo have maintained a tight bromance since.
The new Cristiano Ronaldo teammate, Sadio Mane formerly helped his childhood friend to get onto team B at Metz as the Senegalese football player was putting together his career with the French club side.
Fans of League Two’s Oldham were disappointed with the performance of striker Segbe Azankpo in the 2019/2020 campaign when he scored just four goals in 28 appearances and was deemed one of the worst Oldham strikers in memory by the club’s most diehard fans.
Sadio Mane joined Bayern during the summer of 2022 from Liverpool and was believed to be a crucial part of Segbe Azankpo being called up to Bayern team B.
Mane had a chaotic season with the German powerhouse, damaged by a physical altercation with former teammate Leroy Sane before he departed Bayern for Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr in a transfer deal worth 34 million pounds in August 2023.
