Liverpool transfer rumours: Bayern's Mane bid rejected

Wrapping up the Liverpool transfer news, rumours and gossip in the 2022 summer window. Mane: I respect Liverpool | 'I'd rather play for Marseille than Bayern'

Sadio Mane insists he respects Liverpool "a lot" and that he was joking when he said he would fulfil the apparent wishes of Senegalese fans for him to leave Anfield.

Mane, who has 12 months left on his current deal and been strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich - said this week that up to 70 per cent of Senegalese people wanted him to move clubs.

According to The Times, Bayern Munich have seen an opening bid of £21m plus £4m in add-ons rejected by Liverpool for Mane, with the German club confident they can sign Mane for less than €50m (£42.5m) this summer.

However, after scoring a hat-trick for his country against Benin on Saturday, Mane rowed back slightly on his comments, saying: "I spoke yesterday while joking with a bit of humour and it was everywhere. I think we'll stop there.

"Liverpool is a club I respect a lot. The fans adopted me since day one. Regarding the future, we'll see."

Mane has continued his light-hearted tone about his future, after joking that his dream move is one to boyhood club Marseille.

"You know I'm not a fan of these teams," said Mane when asked about a move to Bayern, Real Madrid or Barcelona. "My club is Marseille, I would rather say Marseille."

Real Madrid are in advanced talks to sign Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco.

Monaco want at least €80m (£68m) for the 22-year-old France midfielder, who is also attracting interest from Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

Champions League winners Real are offering Tchouameni a five-year contract to make the move to Spain.

Primarily a defensive-minded player, Tchouameni is comfortable in