'Guardiola downright reprogrammed me!' - Bayern winger Sane indebted to Man City boss

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'Guardiola downright reprogrammed me!' - Bayern winger Sane indebted to Man City boss image

Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has praised Pep Guardiola, with the Germany international claiming that the Manchester City boss “reprogrammed” him and made him a better footballer through meticulous coaching.

Sane completed a €49 million (£45m/$55m) move - potentially rising to €60m (£55m/$67m) through add-ons – to the Allianz Arena in July, calling time on a trophy-laden four-year stay at the Etihad Stadium.

It had been suggested that the German had pushed for the move due to Guardiola's tactical demands, with some believing that the Catalan coach's methods can stifle players' creativity due to having to rigidly stick to his gameplan.

Sane has put paid to those claims, however, stating that he always had the “freedom” required to showcase his “individual quality” as he played his part in helping the Manchester side to two Premier League titles during his time in the English top flight.

“In positional play, in the general perception of the entire game, in tactical behaviour both offensively and defensively - Guardiola downright reprogrammed me,” the 24-year-old explained to Kicker.

“It's the simple movements that make you think, 'Oh, never'. But when you implement them, you realise very quickly that Guardiola is right. What he advises helps a lot, it makes the game easier and faster. Tactics are the most important thing to him.”

Sane, who will wear the No.10 shirt in Bavaria, previously stated a return to his homeland had nothing to do with losing a hunger for trophies after such a successful period in England, but rather that he wanted to take on a new challenge in his career.

“It was not anything about Man City or anything else – that we’d now won everything or that I’d now lost the hunger or anything like that,” the attacker told reporters in July. “It was just me personally. I just had a feeling and that’s why I came to this decision.

“Obviously we won a lot in these four years but Bayern Munich also won a lot! I just had a personal feeling for myself.”

Bayern, who won the 2019-20 Champions League final after beating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0, will get their 2020-21 campaign underway against Schalke on September 18 before a UEFA Super Cup clash with Sevilla on September 24.

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