Sadio Mane has broken his silence on the heated altercation with Bayern Munich teammate Leroy Sane in April.
The 31-year-old forward was suspended and fined £250,000 by the Bundesliga giants for punching Sane in the face during a dressing room bust-up after the 3-0 first-leg defeat away against Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.
Mane is alleged to have been unhappy with the way that Sane spoke to him after the defeat, and both players made separate trips from the Etihad Stadium back to Germany.
Sane was left with a bleeding lip which was later seen swollen when he returned to first-team action in a 1-1 league draw against Hoffenheim.
Mane missed that Bundesliga match, but he swiftly returned to Thomas Tuchel's squad less than a week later for their Champions League second-leg tie with Man City, although Bayern had to settle for a 1-1 draw and were eliminated 4-1 on aggregate.
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Mane has since revealed that the "small problem" has been resolved between himself and Sane and he is keen to move on from the incident.
"Sometimes it's good to solve problems, but maybe not in this way. It's behind us now. We'll try to fight together to help the club achieve its goals next season," Mane told reporters in his native Senegal via the Daily Mail.
"I'm on vacation with the family. It was a very complicated season, it happens. It wasn't a surprise, I expected things to be a bit complicated. It's normal.
"I love challenges, and Bayern is a big challenge. It's up to me to do everything to meet this challenge."
Mane has been linked with a possible summer exit from Bayern just 12 months after joining the club from Liverpool for around £35m.
According to German new outlet Bild, Mane is one of seven Bayern players along with Sane, Serge Gnabry, Benjamin Pavard, Marcel Sabitzer, Alexander Nubel and Bouna Sarr who Tuchel is prepared to let go this summer.
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Mane, who was voted by Bundesliga players as the league's most disappointing player, endured a frustrating debut campaign in 2022-23, scoring just seven top-flight goals in 25 games.
The likes of Newcastle United, Manchester United and Chelsea have all been credited with an interest in Mane, as have Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq, but Bayern's No.17 has insisted that he intends to remain at the Allianz Arena.
"God willing. If everything goes well, I'm going to return to Bayern", the 95-cap Senegal international added.
Mane recently starred for his country when he scored twice in a 4-2 friendly victory against Brazil a week last Tuesday.
Oliver Thomas
