Leroy Sane explains why he didn’t excel in his first season with Bayern Munich

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 11 Aug 2021 14:20 BST
• 2 min read

Leroy Sane admits he was not at his best in his first season back in Germany after signing for Bayern Munich from Manchester City last summer.

The German initially played with Schalke in the Bundesliga before joining Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, where he would go on to two Premier League titles and the FA Cup.

However, when Bayern made their desire to sign him known, his head was turned as he quickly campaigned for a return to his homeland, though the deal became complicated after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury.

Sane believes that the recovery from this injury, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, led him to not firing on all cylinders for the Bavarian giants in 2020/21 after his €45 million move.

“I know that I haven’t played an outstanding season,” he told Goal.

“For me it was a bit more difficult in general due to the corona break and my knee injury. It was important to me to get back my rhythm, to be fit, which I managed to do.

“Now I’m putting all my focus on the European Championship.”

Germany last won a major competition in 2014 when they lifted the World Cup, and Sane is eager for the success to return even if the pressure is high on he and his compatriots.

“It’s a very big dream to win this title. We have to give our best, and we are preparing very well,” Sane added.

“There is a certain pressure, but each of us is looking forward to this challenge.”

How has Sane performed this season?

The general feeling when Bayern purchased Sane is that he would go on to usurp Kingsley Coman as the club’s starting left winger.

However, it hasn’t worked out that way, as both Coman and fellow winger Serge Gnabry started 23 and 20 Bundesliga matches this season, while Sane started just 18 out of a possible 34.

Only youngster Jamal Musiala made more appearances from the bench this past campaign.

The former Man City winger has struggled with injuries again, but when he has actually played he has done well as he has 15 goal contributions in those 18 starts in the league, scoring six goals and recording nine assists.