Bayern Munich Lifts Another Trophy (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich transfer is a win-win for everyone.
On Saturday, in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Bayern won it’s second DFB-Pokal title in a row and their second piece of silverware this season after beating Leverkusen 4-2.
The day before, the super-club sealed a deal that may ensure their future dominance.
Left-winger Leroy Sané signed on the dotted line in a board room in Munich and donned the red jersey for the first time. In moments, the pictures were splashed all over social media.
The response on Instagram and Twitter were mixed with quiet jubilation from Bayern supporters and near-despair by the rest of the Deutschland soccer world.
Die Roten paid $53.9 million with possible add-ons to the Cityzens for the intelligent and physically gifted German 24-year old.
Much of the fear from the other German clubs comes from the fact that the deal is an absolute win-win for Bayern Munich and Manchester City. More importantly, it is a win for Sané himself.
Last summer, rumors were flying like a swarm of wasps regarding the transfer. The stories, per usual, were a mix of fact and fantasy. However, there was so much smoke there had to be fire.
What appeared to be clear before the start of the season was that the Germans wanted Sané, but did not want to pay full price, Pep Guardiola did not want to let him go, and the player wanted to go.
Then, things came to a painful halt. On August 4th, in the Community Shield match, Leroy suffered a severe knee injury that put him out for the majority of the season. He had played only 24 minutes for Man City this campaign.
Now, the deal he wanted is done. It’s a victory for everyone.
second piece of silverware this season after beating Leverkusen 4-2.</a></p>
<p>The day before, the super-club sealed a deal that may ensure their future dominance.</p>
<p>Left-winger <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/2b114be3/Leroy-Sane?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22>Leroy Sané</a> signed on the dotted line in a board room in Munich and donned the red jersey for the first time. In moments, the pictures were splashed all over social media.</p>
<p>The response on Instagram and Twitter were mixed with quiet jubilation from Bayern supporters and near-despair by the rest of the <em>Deutschland</em> soccer world.</p>
<p><em>Die Roten</em> paid $53.9 million with possible add-ons to the Cityzens for the intelligent and physically gifted German 24-year old.</p>
<p>Much of the fear from the other German clubs comes from the fact that the deal is an absolute win-win for Bayern Munich and Manchester City. More importantly, it is a win for Sané himself.</p>
<p>Last summer, rumors were flying like a swarm of wasps regarding the transfer. The stories, per usual, were a mix of fact and fantasy. However, there was so much smoke there had to be fire.</p>
<p>What appeared to be clear before the start of the season was that the Germans wanted Sané, but did not want to pay full price, <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/b21fe2db/Pep-Guardiola?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Pep Guardiola</a> did not want to let him go, and the player wanted to go.</p>
<p>Then, things came to a painful halt. On August 4th, in the Community Shield match, Leroy suffered a severe knee injury that put him out for the majority of the season. He had played only 24 minutes for Man City this campaign.</p>
<p>Now, the deal he wanted is done. It’s a victory for everyone.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Why It's A Win For Bayern </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-482701 size-full" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2000,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F07%2F1159706691.jpeg" alt="Bayern Munich" width="1600" height="2000" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1159706691.jpeg 1600w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1159706691-768x960.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Leroy Sane, Bayern Munich (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Why the Leroy Sané transfer is a massive victory for Bayern Munich.</h2>
<p>Many people do not remember that Sané played in the <em>Bundesliga</em> before joining Manchester City. He spent his first three seasons at Schalke. While there, he showed the football intelligence and natural brilliance that caught the eye of then Bayern manager – Pep Guardiola.</p>
<p>At 19, Leroy burst onto the scene scoring eight goals and adding six assists for <em>Die Königsblauen</em> in the 2015-16 season, which was Pep’s last in Germany.</p>
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<p>In the following summer, MCFC signed the winger after paying out the $57.2 million fee.</p>
<p>Bayern Munich is getting a player that not only has the technical skills and pace to be a top-flight player, but the mental sharpness to take it to the next level.</p>
<p>Leroy also puts up the numbers on the board to match his talent.</p>
<p>In the two seasons before his injury, he punched in 10 goals each year. He also provided 25 assists over that same span.</p>
<p>The German had non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists per 90 minutes of 0.47 and 0.60 in his last two full seasons, respectively.</p>
<p>Most importantly, Sané is surgical as a play-maker and goal scorer.</p>
<p>His offensive goal conversion rate is an outstanding +9.3, and his assists conversion rate is an insane +10.5 over the last two years at City.</p>
<p><em>Der FCB</em> also gets a solid left-winger.</p>
<p>Though Leroy can play all forward positions and central mid-field, his best spot is at the left-wing. The talented but oft-injured <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/042e8a49/Kingsley-Coman?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kingsley Coman</a> and the 31-year old <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/6fe90922/Ivan-Perisic?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ivan Perisic</a> (on loan from Inter on an expiring contract) are listed as left-wingers.</p>
<p>At a minimum, the 24-year old adds depth, and if he reaches full potential, it will be an upgrade.</p>
<p>The idea of having to defend Sané and <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/88e357ef/Serge-Gnabry?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Serge Gnabry</a> on the wings and <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/3c6089ab/Thomas-Muller?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Thomas Müller</a> and <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/8d78e732/Robert-Lewandowski?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Robert Lewandowski</a> in the middle is a nightmare scenario for every German club.</p>
<p>The addition of another all-around offensive surgical weapon like Leroy also makes Bayern a major contender to lift the Champions League trophy.</p>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-482702 size-full" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1064,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F07%2F1148634533.jpeg" alt="Bayern Munich" width="1600" height="1064" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1148634533.jpeg 1600w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1148634533-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Leroy Sane, Bayern Munich (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>The loss of Leroy Sané is also a victory for the club he left behind in Manchester.</h2>
<p>Sané spent three years with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. It was enough for the 24-year old German winger.</p>
<p>It was clear that the star player wanted to leave England and go back home last year. There was chatter coming from his camp to make several intelligence agencies conclude that it was the real deal.</p>
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<p>It is never a good idea for a team to keep a player that does not want to stay. It is like trying to hold a cat when it wants to get on the floor. If you hold it too long, it becomes a bloody mess. Don’t do it. Ever.</p>
<p>With the player now back home in Germany, Guardiola does not have to cope with dealing with a player who does not want to play for the club.</p>
<p>Sané’s injury did not derail Manchester City’s offensive machine this season. The club has averaged 2.53 goals this season after averaging 2.50 the year before.</p>
<p><a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://fbref.com/en/players/b400bde0/Raheem-Sterling?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Raheem Sterling</a>, though not having his best year, is one of the Premier League’s best goal scorers and starts primarily on the left.</p>
<p>Though approaching his prime, Leroy is coming back from a serious knee injury, and it is unclear whether or not he will return to the same level of production as he did before his injury.</p>
<p>I would expect that Bayern did their homework in monitoring his training, but you never know until he gets playing time. This level of uncertainty is one less headache for Pep.</p>
<p>Lastly, you can not sneeze at getting an additional $53.9 million to spend in a buyers market for transfers from money-strapped clubs.</p>
<p>Manchester City is better off having the extra money in the bank with an already deep squad then keeping a player that didn’t want to play for them who may not come back to their previous form.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Talking Points from Bayern Munich’s 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/05/talking-bayern-munich-bayer-leverkusen/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/06/bayern-munich-leroy-sane-deal-win/"https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/05/talking-bayern-munich-bayer-leverkusen/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Talking Points from Bayern Munich’s 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen </a> </div>
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<p>Bayern got the player they wanted to take the next step for the future. City received cash and lost a player they did not need.</p>
<p>That is a win-win.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">