Mané was picked up from a football academy in Senegal by French side Metz and was a regular in the second half of the 2011/12 season but couldn't help his side avoid relegation. He was transferred for 4 million Euros to Red Bull Salzburg where he became a prolific scorer, averaging a goal every other game and winning a domestic double in 2013/14. An £11.8million move to Southampton followed and he scored ten goals from 32 appearances in all competitions, including the Premier League's fastest hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Aston Villa on 18 May 2015. His 176-second treble beat Robbie Fowler's record set in 1994, which stood at 276 seconds.
In 2015/16 Mané endured a barren spell of four months without a goal but this was ended with two against Liverpool as the Saints came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on 20 March 2016. He went on to finish the season as their leading scorer and when Liverpool paid £30 million for him, he became the most expensive African footballer in history. In his first interview with LFCTV, he said it was the right moment, the right coach and the right club for him.
Mané made a sensational start to his Reds career, scoring a stunning solo goal on his debut, a 4-3 win at Arsenal. He finished the season with thirteen league goals from 27 appearances, injury ruling him out of the end of the campaign. Memorable moments were the injury-time winner in the derby at Goodison Park and two goals in two minutes against Spurs at Anfield. The following season saw a major blow dealt when Mané was suspended for three games after being shown a straight red card early in the campaign at Manchester City. However, in the second half of the campaign, he excelled as part of a front three alongside Mo Salah and Robert Firmino. Mané got for the club his first hat-trick against Porto in the Champions League round of sixteen and also scored Liverpool's goal in the 3-1 final defeat to Real Madrid.
During 2018/19 Mané was exceptional, arguably more influential than Salah. He got crucial goals against Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the knockout stages of the Champions League and it was his pass that was handballed by Moussa Sissoko, earning a penalty in the first minute of the final. In the Premier League, Mané enjoyed his best-ever season, finishing with 22 goals to share the Golden boot with Salah and Arsenal's Pierre Aubameyang. Of the trio, however, only Mane's tally included no penalties. Mané's progress was rewarded in November 2018 when he signed a five-year contract, said to be worth £150,000 a week.” This is a big boost for everyone and another demonstration of how the players we have at this club are committed, not just to our present but our future also,” said Klopp to liverpoolfc.com. “I can’t think of a single club anywhere in Europe that wouldn’t want a player like Sadio available to them, so the fact he wants to remain with us says something about where we are currently. He is such an important member of our team and squad. He radiates joy and I think this is reflected in his performances and impact on the pitch. The only criticism I could ever have of Sadio is that maybe at times he is the only one not to see just how good he is but as an attacking player he is the complete package."
At the end of the 2018/19 season, Mané received a hero's welcome as he joined his Senegal teammates for the African Cup of Nations in which Senegal lost 1-0 to Algeria in the final. On 7 January 2020, it was announced that Mané had achieved his most prestigious individual honour when he was voted the 2019 African Footballer of the Year. Mané let everyone know in the European Super Cup final against Chelsea that another memorable campaign by the Senegalese was ahead. He scored Liverpool's both goals as the team picked up their first of three titles in the 2019/20 season. Mané has an eye-catching style and his unpredictability on the field makes him a nightmare to play against. Graeme Souness saw first-hand the talents of Ian Rush while he was at Liverpool and he could certainly appreciate Mané as he revealed after the Premier League resumed after its Covid lockdown. "Mané has fantastic attitude, he’s a warrior and it would be far easier to say what he hasn’t got, and I can’t tell you what he hasn’t got. He's spot on with his attitude, aggressive, will not be bullied. You could see he could deal with the English game [at Southampton] but then again it’s making the jump from Southampton, with all due respect, to a club that’s on the world stage where every game you play it could be the other team’s cup final. You don’t get easy games if you’re a Liverpool player. Everyone wants to go to war with you, everyone wants to take you on and everyone wants to beat you, you’re a scalp. You don’t know how players will react until you get them in and he’s grown, he’s relished every challenge that comes his way and generally wins every challenge that comes his way. He’s a fabulous player, there is nothing to dislike about him. He’s smiley, open and you want to work with people like that.“I don’t think you’d have to say very much to him in terms of ‘train harder today’ or on match day ‘make sure you’re at it’ – I think it’s inbred in him. I think he’d be an absolute dream to work with.”
Mané was unable to live up to his previous exceptional standards in 2020/21, a season mainly played in empty stadiums due to Covid 19 in which Liverpool's title defence stuttered due to injuries to key players. He had a spell out himself after testing positive but enjoyed the last day of the season, scoring twice in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. This game was played in front of 10,000 at Anfield and confirmed Champions League football the following season. 2021/22 was another successful season, with sixteen goals in 34 league appearances. He also enjoyed success with Senegal, winning the African Cup of Nations. However with just a year left on his contract and turning thirty he indicated a desire for a fresh challenge. On 17 June 2022 it was announced a deal had been agreed for him to join Bayern Munich. Mané didn't succeed in Germany and left for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia after only 12 months. He only scored 12 goals in 38 games for Bayern and was involved in an unsavoury altercation with teammate Leroy Sane in an underwhelming season.