After three and a half years at Liverpool and another four and a half years at Crystal Palace, French defender Mamadou Sakho returns to his homeland and signs for Ligue 1 club Montpellier. The 31-year-old centre-back was a free agent for less than a month following the expiration of his Palace contract and has now signed a three-year contract with La Paillade – with an option of another year extension.Born to Senegalese parents in the French capital, the defender was happy after signing with the club from the south of the country.”I’m delighted to return to France, especially with a club so ambitious and organized as Montpellier. I’ve spoken to the manager and directors of the club, who convinced me with their vision for the team. There are many quality players here and I hope I can improve the team.”✅✍🏿 Montpelliérain #TeamMHSC#MHSC @MontpellierHSC pic.twitter.com/yXjw5AHv9o— Mamadou Sakho (@mamadousakho) July 27, 2021 The experienced centre-back knows Ligue 1 very well, having spent eight seasons there during his time at Paris Saint-Germain, where he made 201 official appearances. In January 2014, Sakho landed in the Premier League with Liverpool, where he made 80 appearances and stayed until 2017, when he signed a contract until July 2021 with Crystal Palace, where he played last season. After 75 official matches, Sakho said goodbye to Crystal Palace, a club where he hardly had any opportunities last season.The strong defender was once Paris’ captain, the Reds’ most expensive defender and Palace’s most expensive signing. He should be a legend by now – but instead, he remains a bit of a cult legend at both Anfield and Selhurst Park.Signed by then-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers from PSG in a $21 million deal, Sakho was seen as an ideal long-term solution for the Reds’ backline. His maiden campaign did coincide with Rodgers’ best season as Liverpool manager when they came close of a first title for nearly a quarter of a century. The Frenchman, though, made just 18 Premier League appearances as the Reds’ title hopes were undone by a porous defence that conceded a whopping 50 goals. Critics viewed an apparently uneasy and nervous Sakho as an impending liability, someone who never looked confident with the ball at his feet. Defenders like Kolo Toure, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Dejan Lovren were always more dependable and it proved difficult for Mamadou to become the team’s mainstay.Good luck to Mamadou Sakho at Montpellier. Unfortunately, his hamstrings are made of paper but, when he was fit, he was easily one of the best CBs that we’ve seen in the red and blue 💪 #TheSoldier #CPFC pic.twitter.com/QVkowYj4LS— Team Called Palace (@TCPalacePod) July 27, 2021 Jurgen Klopp replaced Rodgers in October 2015 and initially put a lot of faith in the supremely athletic stopper. But if April 2016 marked the high point of Sakho’s time at Liverpool, it would also signal one of the lowest when he was hit with a doping ban at the end of the month. An initial sample revealed traces of a fat-burning substance, he decided against having another tested before he was provisionally suspended for 30 days. He missed the European Championship and his reputation was tarnished. Even when additional checks proved that Sakho had done nothing wrong – the stain on his resume remained.He did come back after the unjust suspension and was determined to pick up where he’d left off. But more trouble was just around the corner. During Liverpool’s 2016 pre-season tour of the United States, Sakho was sent home by Klopp for not respecting the rules and being late all the time. Mamadou was allegedly late for team meals, a flight and a scheduled physio treatment. The frustrated Frenchman would later undermine his boss with childish posts on Snapchat and Instagram. The German has had enough and it was effectively the end of Sakho’s Anfield career.An initial six-month loan at Selhurst Park helped the South London club from relegation and convinced them to pay $31 million to make the move permanent. Sakho became a bit of a legend for the Eagles’ fans over his four seasons with the club, but he only featured sporadically as his final year of the contract came to its end.At 31, Sakho could yet play some good football and might be one of the best signings by any French club this year.
