DThe neutral white sweatshirt was probably no accident. FC Bayern employees may have told Leroy Sané that garments with the lettering of the personal outfitter, who is not the record champion, are taboo at this official appointment on Thursday. But the understated outfit also suited his first press conference in Munich. The winger, who has had to live with the national team since appearing in a white lambskin jacket, seems to be pretty extravagant in Munich, wants to prove in Munich that he is a normal football professional, without pretensions.
When a regular player moves from a very large club (Manchester City) to another large club, they usually do not have to be subordinate to them, but rather rank high in the hierarchy, right from the start. Sure, Bayern would have brought him in as a leading player, says Sané, but “they want to develop me further”. He knows what he can do, and it would probably not have taken the hymns of praise from the Munich management team that accompanied the 24-year-old. Oliver Kahn spoke of the “difference player” that Bayern was looking for after the Robben-Ribéry era – and would have found it in Sané. CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge sees the “fast dribbler” as the ideal person for the addition to trainer Hansi Flick’s addition to Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman for the outside positions.
And for Hasan Salihamidzic, who, with the commitment of the around 50 million national player, has successfully passed the final examination as a sports director, the newcomer is a perfect fit “because he has solutions in a small space”. But Sané also knows what he is not yet good at. “Some things,” says Sané. For example, the game with his very weak right foot, which “wants and I have to improve”. But actually he had to “try everything to take it to the next level”.
This Thursday was not just about Sané, who has been living in the hotel in Munich for a few days and has already completed the first training sessions on Säbener Straße. Bayern still have a few open construction sites in the squad. Thiago had already informed those responsible before the cup final at the beginning of July that they wanted to leave the club, preferably this summer after the Champions League tournament in Lisbon. Jürgen Klopp is said to be interested in bringing the Spaniard to Liverpool. But “no club has contacted us yet,” said Rummenigge, but let the English champions know that Thiago is not a bargain. “Despite Corona, there won’t be a summer sale.”
With David Alaba, whose contract, like Thiago’s, only runs for a year, Bayern have always been confident of agreeing on an extension before the start of the new season in mid-September. But Rummenigge’s latest statements raise doubts. No solution has yet been found and, as is so often the case with contracts, “it is also about finance”. Basically, the Austrian’s adviser has said, Alaba could well imagine ending his career in Munich, but apparently only to significantly higher pay. The offer from Bavaria is available, and Rummenigge does not currently sound as if it still needs to be shaken. “The transfer amounts between the clubs have moved down noticeably. When it comes to salaries, at least at the top, at least one or the other consultant still seems to think that the sun is still shining bright despite Corona. “
“We don’t have to step on the accelerator now,” says the club boss. For both Thiago and Alaba, it is important “that they concentrate on the Champions League”. The two are in any case in the round of 16 second leg against Chelsea on August 8 and if successful also at the tournament in Lisbon – in contrast to Sané and the other two Bayern newcomers, Tanguy Nianzou and Alexander Nübel.
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