Sane farewell: Five Bayern years but no magic Robben moment
dpa
Miami
Leroy Sané bids farewell to Bayern Munich after five years in which he inherited the number 10 shirt from Arjen Robben but never managed to be as decisive and ultimately adored as the Dutchman.
Former Schalke player Sané arrived in 2020 for ?50 million from Manchester City where the winger played together with now Bayern coach Vincent Kompany under Pep Guardiola.
Kompany revealed that that Sané 'sat on the pitch for a very long time' after his final Bayern training session on Saturday before becoming a Galatasaray player in Istanbul from Tuesday onwards.
Whether Sané will play one last time for Bayern later Sunday in the Club World Cup last 16 match against Brazil's Flamengo remains to be seen.
There were some raised eyebrows that Sané was taken along to the tournament in the United States at all, and the critics seemed to be proven right when he wasted several top chances in his only notable appearance there, the 1-0 group defeat against Benfica.
The gifted Sané has often been considered unfulfilled and never reached the status of Robben, who after some struggles became a fan favourite together with Franck Ribery, and scored Bayern's winner in the 2013 Champions League final.
But Sané was a popular figure in the dressing room, and Kompany stressed that he never had the feeling that Sané didn't fully commit to Bayern in the US despite having already signed for Galatasaray.
'I always likes to play with Leroy a lot,' captain Manuel Neuer said.
Newly signed defender Jonathan Tah said: 'I am very sad that I can't play here together with him any longer, but only this tournament.
That's football, that's the way the business is.'
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