Sane move to Bayern apparently a done deal
July 3, 2020
It looks like it's now a done deal. Late on Thursday evening, several photos turned up on social media accounts showing Leroy Sane in a Bayern Munich jersey and apparently signing a contract at the club.
According to the mass-circulation daily Bild, the photos were posted on Bayern's own Arabic Twitter account, but the tweet was quickly deleted. Bild also reported that the Arabic account is not run in-house but is operated by an outside service provider. Despite the tweet being deleted, photos were soon widely circulated on Twitter.
It's thought that the club had planned to officially announce the transfer on Friday. There was no immediate comment from the club on Thursday night.
Worst-kept secret
The deal would be the worst-kept secret in German football in recent days or even weeks, with media reporting that Manchester City's Sane had landed in Munich on Wednesday and completed his medical at his new club earlier on Thursday.
With the apparent deal still not official, the amount of the transfer fee is not known – and often clubs decline to release the figures after a deal has gone through anyway. However, German and British media have reported that the transfer fee is about €50 million ($55 million) and that the 24-year-old Sane has signed a contract that will keep him in the Bavarian capital for the next five years.
Sane had been close to a move to Bayern last summer, when the transfer fee being bandied about was €100 million. However, that deal was nixed after the Germany winger suffered a torn ACL. Nearly a year later, it seems the price his been cut in half, possibly due largely to the financial impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on European football.
During his four years at Manchester City, Sane won the English Premier League twice, in 2018 and 2019. He was also named the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year for 2017-18. Sane, whose father Souleymane also played in the Bundesliga, came up through Schalke's academy, making his debut with the first team in 2014. He also has 21 caps for Germany.
Sane is Bayern's third major signing of the current transfer window, following that of former Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and 18-year-old French central defender Tanguy Nianzou Kouassi from Paris Saint-Germain.