Liverpool winger Sadio Mane sets the record straight over relationship with team-mate Mohamed Salah

The pair have built a strong bond since Salah's arrival at Anfield but faced repeated questions about their friendship at Thursday's African Footballer of the Year awards

Mohamed Salah was named the African Footballer of the Year on Thursday (Getty)

Sadio Mané has rubbished any lingering suggestions of a rift between himself and Mohamed Salah, insisting that the Egyptian is the team-mate he is closest to at Liverpool.

The pair attended the African Footballer of the Year ceremony in Accra on Thursday, with Salah winning the award ahead of Mané and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, their fellow nominee.

Salah and Mané have struck up a close friendship since the former’s arrival at Anfield last summer and recently promised to compete against each other in a sprint race to see which of them is the quickest.

Even so, following Mané’s high-profile miss in last month’s Merseyside derby, when the Senegal international elected to shoot rather than tee-up Salah or two other team-mates, both players faced questions about their relationship in Accra.

Mané, however, insisted that suggestions of any bad blood between the pair could not be further from the truth.

“Mo and me are very, very good friends. He is maybe my best friend in Liverpool even though I am cool with everyone,” he told The Guardian.

The Senegal international is also reported to have responded to questions about his and Salah’s relationship by asking: “Did you see the assist I gave him in our last game [a 2-1 win against Leicester at Anfield]?”

Salah has assisted Mané four times in the Premier League this season, with only Alvaro Morata and Cesar Azpilicueta providing more goals as a combination in the top flight.