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If you want to judge a player’s true quality, then look beyond even the stats which define careers these days, and listen to those who truly know. The players themselves.

When it comes to Sadio Mane, there were so many tributes it seemed as though he had passed away, not merely left for pastures new and, importantly, richer. Mane won the hearts and minds of the fans, but also, importantly, the appreciation of the gnarled ex- Liverpool pros.

Jamie Carragher described him as his favourite Reds player of this era, “a true legend”, and Robbie Fowler marked his departure to Bayern Munich on Twitter, with a crying emoji.

The Anfield great has always described Mane as the best of the Jurgen Klopp crop, and rated him higher than even Mo Salah. “For me, the most important of all of them in Jurgen’s team, no doubt,” Fowler said.

Ian Rush. Check. Steven Gerrard. Check. Graeme Souness. Check. When the Anfield legends line up to name you as an all time Liverpool great, then it defines you.

John Barnes too, tacitly suggested Mane is very much in conversation as Liverpool’s greatest ever left winger…and that is some praise indeed from the player widely regarded as the club’s best ever.

Barnes scored 108 goals in 10 years for Liverpool. Mane, with 120, topped it in six.