Leroy Sane moved to Manchester City only because of Pep, claims father

Bengaluru, January 10: Germany winger Leroy Sane's father reveals that his son moved to Manchester City simply because of the arrival of boss Pep Guardiola.

Sané joined Manchester City on a five-year deal for a reported £37 million last year from Schalke. However, before City's capture, there was strong interest from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, who always capture the best young talents of German football.

It is understood that Guardiola while he was the manager of Bayern till 2016 identified the youngster and now his father, Souleyman Sané - a former footballer in Senegal - said the opportunity to play under Guardiola was the sole reason for his son to join the Premier League leaders.

He also suggested that if Pep stayed at Bayern for more years, his son would have joined him there willingly.

"Leroy did not find it easy to leave Schalke. He's one of the Ruhr people. But it was the right move, he just had to go. He could not say no when the offer was on the table.

"My boy could have gone to Barcelona, (Real) Madrid or Bayern Munich. Half the world wanted him! But Leroy wanted to go to Pep Guardiola. Only to him. If Guardiola had stayed in Munich, Leroy would play for Bayern now."

Sane struggled during the start of his spell in the English environment but slowly started to flourish in the latter half of the season last year and this season has cemented his place permanently in Pep Guardiola's starting XI.

The German winger has registered ten goals and eleven assists in all competitions and now he stands out as one of City's top players this season.

City are currently top of the table, 15 points clear of their city rivals Manchester Utd and are yet to lose a match in Premier league, and are still in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabo Cup with the chance of doing a quadruple.