Mane instructed not to follow Torres and Suarez at Liverpool

Sadio Mane has everything he needs to be regarded as a Liverpool legend, if he stays at the club.

That’s according to bona fide Reds great John Barnes, who brushed off Jamie Carragher’s comparison between himself and Mane when the former defender was discussing the Liverpool forward on Sky Sports.

Ex-Reds star Carragher stated that Mane’s displays since he arrived at the club in the summer of 2016 have been so good that he was beginning to potentially edge Barnes out of a spot on the left-hand side of the attack in an all-time Liverpool XI.

The forward scored both goals in the 2-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday, as the reigning Premier League champions made it two wins from two in their attempts to retain their crown.

Those goals took his Reds tally to 86 Premier League goals in 196 games since his signing from Southampton, with the forward now entering his fifth season at the club.

Although rejecting comparisons with himself, Barnes says that Mane is well on the way to legendary status at the club but only if he sticks around unlike some other fine forwards of Liverpool’s recent past.

“Well, he’ll definitely be slimmer than me, I can tell you that!” Barnes told talkSPORT.

“Mane has been fantastic, of course. What he’s done in the time he’s been here has been absolutely sensational.

“But, as we saw with Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez, if he leaves this season or at the end of the season after being here for four years, you can’t compare them.

Liverpool are keen to repeat last season’s success – and you don’t want to miss a thing, surely?

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Liverpool got their title defence off to a shaky start as they edged out a seven-goal thriller against Leeds.

In terms of transfers the Reds have completed the signing of Thiago Alcantara and Wolves’ Diogo Jota is arriving too.

Youngster Ki-Jana Hoever is set to head to Wolves in a £10million deal, while Gini Wijnaldum continues to be linked with Barcelona. There’s a lot to keep track of.

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“If they stay there over a period of time, then you can compare him to any great player from the past.

“Mane has been great, but all three of them have been great, [Mohamed] Salah as well and, for me, [Roberto] Firmino still is my favourite player as he links it all together.”

Both Torres and Suarez spent three and a half seasons with Liverpool before moving on, with Torres scoring 65 Premier League goals in 102 games, and Suarez 69 from 110.

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