Ismaila Sarr's Agent Speaks Out on Treatment of African Players
Ismaila Sarr’s agent has gone public after Liverpool failed to get a deal over the line for the Crystal Palace winger, using the collapse to launch a wider attack on how African players are treated in the market.
Liverpool, fresh from landing Victor Munoz and sealing a huge £123million agreement for Bradley Barcola, pushed hard for a third winger before the deadline. They held multiple rounds of talks over Sarr with Palace, and also explored a move for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh.
During negotiations for Barcola, Liverpool had also discussed Ibrahim Mbaye, only to step aside and watch the 18-year-old head to Aston Villa in a €55m (£47m) deal.
Their focus then sharpened on Sarr. The Reds lodged a £40m proposal for the Senegal international. Reports from Fabrizio Romano suggested Liverpool even went as high as £50m, a claim quickly challenged by other sources. What is clear is that the move hit a wall.
Palace made their stance plain: Sarr would cost in excess of £50m, and he would not be leaving late in the window. Liverpool walked away.
It was not the only late twist for Diomansy Kamara, the former striker who now represents Sarr. Another of his clients, Lamine Camara, saw a £47m transfer to Chelsea collapse at the last moment when Monaco pulled the plug on selling the midfielder.
That double frustration sparked a pointed and emotional statement from Kamara on social media.
“The cases of Ismaïla Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us,” he wrote. “We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.
“Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.
“A transfer shouldn’t just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there’s a man, a career, dreams and life choices.
“The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football.
“But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player? The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.
“Let’s never forget what’s important: behind every success, it’s the players who write history first.”
The message landed against a backdrop of mounting speculation around Sarr’s future. Manchester United and Galatasaray both registered interest in the 26-year-old, while the player himself deleted all Palace-related images from his Instagram account as he pushed for a summer move.
United never turned that interest into a formal bid. Galatasaray tried, but their offers came nowhere near Palace’s £50m-plus valuation.
Liverpool’s pursuit of Minteh followed a similar pattern of ambition meeting resistance. Verbal offers of £50m and then £60m were turned down by Brighton. Andoni Iraola’s side looked at going higher, considering an improved package in the £65-70m range, but backed off when Brighton responded with an £80m figure.
So the window closed with Barcola as the headline attacking arrival at Anfield, a signing that has rightly excited Liverpool fans. Yet the mood is not entirely celebratory.
The club’s failure to land a third winger – and to add a right-back and central midfielder – has left supporters wondering whether a bold summer rebuild stopped one or two moves short of what a title challenge truly demands.
