Leroy Sane returns to Manchester as a Bayern Munich player this evening, approaching three years since leaving Manchester City.
The Germany international headed home in the summer of 2020 after spending four seasons at City. Sane won every domestic trophy, including two Premier Leagues and Carabao Cups, alongside manager Pep Guardiola.
A Schalke academy product, the winger was linked with Bayern ahead of the 2019/20 season before a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during that year's Community Shield against Liverpool postponed a move by 12 months. City offered the player a contract extension, but Sane turned it down in favour of a move to Munich.
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Why Sane left City?
At the time, reports that a desire to return to Germany fuelled Sane's desire to leave City for Bayern. Concerns about playing time as Guardiola regularly rotated the winger with Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez in the starting line-up, were also a factor. The perennial German champions also offered Sane a significantly more lucrative contract than City, with claims the deal more than doubled what he was on in Manchester and was worth €22 million each season.
What was the transfer fee?
City received €49million up front from Bayern, with €11m agreed in potential add-ons to take the total fee towards the €60m (£55m) mark. It represented a tidy profit on the initial £37 million paid by City.
What Sane said
"It wasn't easy," Sane told SportBild in July 2020. "Pep Guardiola and this fantastic team are why I moved to Manchester. But I wanted to do something new. The concept and the plans of FC Bayern were the best match for my ideas. That's why I came to my decision. The Bayern system really fits me perfectly. Wingers characterise Bayern’s game; that, of course, suits me very well. That was very much a key point for me.”
What Guardiola said
“Leroy said he doesn’t want to extend his contract,” Guardiola said during a press conference in June 2020. “It means he wants to leave; it will happen this summer or at the end of his contract. The club offered two or three times, and he rejected it. He wants to play at another club.”
How has Sane fared since
While the winger has won back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Bayern and is on course to add a third in the coming weeks, it has hardly been a dream move back to Germany. Statistically, Sane has offered similar production at Bayern compared to City. Across 135 matches in England, the winger scored 39 goals and assisted a further 46. Back in Germany, 124 appearances have seen 37 goals and 35 assists. But he is not a guaranteed starter and there is speculation he could depart in the summer.
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