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LONDON. — AS Monaco winger Keita Balde has admitted he doesn’t see his Senegal teammate Sadio Mane staying at Liverpool “forever”, amid interest from Spanish football giants Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane has reportedly made the Reds star his top transfer target this summer, and is willing to sanction a £140 million deal to bring him to the Bernabeu. Mane has been in scintillating form for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, with his 14 goals and seven assists in the English Premier League helping fire Liverpool to within two wins of their first league title in 30 years.

When asked if his international teammate could join Madrid, Balde told Spanish outlet AS: “It depends on many things. I don’t know what his decision is. In a year or two, you may want to change. I don’t think he wants to be there forever. He is a smart boy and he knows what is good for him and what he has to do. But in Madrid they are giving out many names.”

Mane’s contract at Anfield doesn’t expire until the summer of 2023, meaning any club that comes in for him will have to pay a substantial fee.

Balde believes it would take a sizeable offer to lure him away from Merseyside, adding: “The coach loves him very much. He has given a lot to Liverpool and Liverpool to him.

“Something very attractive has to come for him to leave Liverpool. A big team would have to come and promise him many things to think about it.

“He’s a great boy. He deserves the best. He is humble and nobody has given him anything. He deserves to be where he is today,”

Meanwhile, David Luiz admits he was left questioning his move to Arsenal shortly after his surprise switch from Chelsea last summer.

The 32-year-old joined the Gunners in an £8 million deal last August, but following a poor start to the campaign under Unai Emery, Luiz admits he “often wondered why the decision was made”.

Luiz also concedes that he was fully aware of the pressure put on him to immediately improve Arsenal’s defence and says it was “difficult” to see Chelsea fans being unhappy with his decision to leave.

“I was always very happy at Chelsea. And then the understanding of knowing that my cycle was over, even though I thought it wasn’t going to end that way, in a quick decision,” Luiz told ESPN Brasil. “I decided to leave Chelsea before I even had my doors open at Arsenal.

“I know that Arsenal didn’t come at a great moment, they had a weight on their defence, I go there and I’ll have to pay the restaurant bill without having eaten.

“But I’m going because I want something new for my life, I want to learn. It wasn’t easy at first. Not only of adaptation, but about taking the criticism, the sadness of many Chelsea fans for not understanding my personal decisions.

My respect and love for Chelsea has always been true.

“It was difficult to deal with the emotional part, then playing, things were not happening on the pitch, the results weren’t coming. ‘Unai is a great coach and a great person, but things weren’t happening for him either. So you get into a stir and try to stay upright and strong.

“And I often wondered why this decision was made. Why is this happening?” — Metro.