Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane regrets getting his infamous back tattoo

In an interview with Spiegel (via Bild) Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane touched upon a number of topics, including his public image, the national team, and the criticism he gets. He also admitted that he regretted his infamous back tattoo, which he got when he was still a Manchester City player.

In case you’re wondering “how bad could it be?”, well ... the answer is really, REALLY bad. Here’s the tattoo in question:

There’s so much wrong with that, I barely know where to begin. Let’s start with the funniest part — the tattoo depicts his goal against AS Monaco in the Champions League, a tie which City actually ended up losing. The original tattoo had a Man City badge on it, which he covered up using the German national team shirt design. Good thing too, now that he’s a Bayern Munich player. Also, it still has his old number on it — didn’t Sane ever anticipate that he would change numbers one day? Well, at least it’s easy to turn a 19 into a 10.

Of course, the player himself admits how stupid the thing is, saying, “I was young. Today I would make a different decision. I was someone who first had to run into the wall, especially when I was young, even if it hurt, in order to learn from it.”

Sane then spoke about the ensuing media coverage of the tattoo. “I was amazed that this topic got so big in the media,” he said. “I was still an absolute youngster. In Germany there were players much more important than me, and yet this tattoo was debated.”

This tattoo may have contributed to the popular perception that he’s arrogant, which Sane even admitted. It’s a shame how one bad decision can really leave a lasting impression. Anyway, at least it looks like he’s learned his lesson. As long as he keeps his focus on football and doesn’t do any shirtless celebrations, fans might let him live it down (someday).