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Leroy Sané had a mediocre first season with Bayern Munich. Despite being brought in as the star signing after a lengthy public pursuit, Sané didn’t get any favours from the then Bayern manager Hansi Flick. As Sané’s game time gradually declined, the fans felt that the coach and the player had drifted apart. Hansi, however in an interview with BILD TV clarified his position and mutual appreciation he has with the 25 year-old.
Flick on Sané: "When you're a coach, you have to make decisions. I always told Leroy about the decisions I made back then and he understood them. There are no grudges held at all. On the contrary, we appreciate each other very much." [BILD TV, @cfbayern] pic.twitter.com/gj1dXnUkui
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 29, 2021
A factor that plays into this is that Leroy Sané’s move to Bayern was the old guard’s project. Uli Hoeness and KHR in collaboration with the sporting director Brazzo were the driving force behind the transfer. Hansi on the other hand was publicly appreciative of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz at a time when the pair were available on the market.
The option of Timo Werner was outright eliminated by Brazzo who never saw him fit the Bayern ethos. Kai Havertz’s potential move to Bayern had several challenges — big money after the signing of Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sané , intense competition from other top clubs and Leverkusen’s sporting director Rudi Voller’s own stubborn reluctance to do business with Bayern.
Add to this Leroy Sané’s injury that delayed his transfer, there was no room for another big transfer in the peak of the covid crisis. While he started strong, Sané performances gradually slumped along with his game time with occasional glimpses of his genuine brilliance. The Bayern squad itself was having a roller coaster season and that didn’t leave a lot of margin for error to the winger. All of these issues together made it easy for people on the outside to believe that the coach and the player had a rift between them.
Flick: "He was injured for a long time and now we all know that you need a certain amount of time to get back to that level and he has the support at FC Bayern and from us"
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 29, 2021
Hansi coming out openly, helps immensely for the future of the German team as Leroy is a very important player for Germany. Flick understood that players coming back a big injury need time and his decisions while in charge of Bayern were purely based on sporting terms and Sane has his full support.
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